


Escape and Evade

by alexis (of_too_minds)



Series: Escape and Evade [1]
Category: Dark Angel
Genre: Angst, Banter, F/M, Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-08
Updated: 2014-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-11 16:04:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 171,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1175038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/of_too_minds/pseuds/alexis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Max never made her speech at the end of FN? What if instead of barricading themselves inside Terminal City, the transgenics scattered and fled?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this 10 years ago, and looking back now I can see that I made Alec a little too strong and Max a little too weak. In my defence I was tired of all the fics where Max was more perfectly perfect than the other transgenics -- a better fighter, a better leader, and a better general. Don't get me wrong, I love the character of Max. She has mad skills. She excels at blending into the human world, and at sneak and creep missions where she can engage her enemies in hand-to-hand combat one at a time. None of that qualifies her to be the transgenics' commanding officer. They have 10 more years of combat training and battlefield experience. That has to count for something! 
> 
> Flaws aside, I'm enormously proud of this fic. I consider it my masterpiece.
> 
> FYI compared to my other fics I've kept the Logan bashing to a minimum. I tried to treat the character fairly while removing him as a barrier to M/A.

“You’re gonna make a right, a left, then straight up the ramp,” Max directed Logan. She kept her fingers crossed that fear of the toxins inside Terminal City would deter the police from following them in. Logan obeyed and raced up a ramp into the parking garage.

 

Max turned and glanced over her shoulder out the back window. The cop cars were still on their tail and closing fast. Her stomach churned. ' _Shit. This can only end badly for us.'_

 

“End of the line,” Logan said as they came to a stop at the far end of the parking garage. The cops screeched to a halt behind them and jumped out of their cars, weapons drawn.

 

Detective Clemente grabbed his bullhorn. “Throw your weapons out and put your hands where I can see them. Do it now!”

 

Max turned to face the stares of the three transgenics in the back of the van. Mole’s look was challenging, Joshua’s pleading. Alec waited calmly for her decision. He dipped his head in an almost imperceptible nod.

 

“You heard the man,” she said in a tired voice. Mole groaned loudly and glared at her.

 

Alec snatched the gun from Mole’s hand before he could do anything stupid with it and tossed it out the back door along with his own. Joshua, Max, and Logan quickly followed suit. They climbed out of the van with their hands in the air.

 

“Get down on your knees!” Clemente shouted. Everyone complied except Max. She lowered her hands and slowly walked toward the detective. She could see the regret in his eyes.

 

“I think you better get down on the ground,” he told her softly.

 

“Actually, I think you should probably go,” Max replied. Just then there was the audible sound of several hundred guns being cocked and loaded as the rest of the transgenics in Terminal City arrived on the scene. The police were surrounded, outgunned and outmanoeuvred.

 

 _'There goes the last of our anonymity,'_  Max thought with a sigh. ' _We are no longer a problem Seattle PD can handle.'_  The cops had always known where to find the transgenics, but until that moment they hadn’t realized how many of them there were. Instantly their status changed from somewhere around ‘street gang’ to something more like ‘invasion force’.

 

“This is gonna get real ugly, and this is way over my head now. These people’s lives depend on the decisions that you make right now,” Clemente said as he climbed back in his cruiser.

 

' _Like we even have a choice,'_  Max thought bitterly.

 

Typically, Mole took charge of the situation. “Escape and evade,” he barked. “Divide up into teams and go to ground.”

 

The transgenics mobilized like the well-trained soldiers they were. No panic, no emotional outbursts, no protests. They simply split into pairs or small groups as ordered and began to methodically strip Terminal City bare of anything of use or value.

 

' _Lydecker would be so proud,'_  Max thought bitterly. She longed to plead with them to stay and defend their home and their place in this world. ' _I’m tired of running. I want a place of our own. I want the right to feel the sun on my face. I want to force the world to face up to the fact that we exist.'_ But what would that accomplish, in the end? The army would simply surround Terminal City, storm the compound, and capture or kill everyone inside. Better to let thme scatter and run and be free. At least until White tracked them down. Or the police, or the local trannie haters. ' _Then they'll suffer and bleed and die, and I'll have more blood on my hands, another black mark against my sould. Because I chose this for them. I forced them out into a world that will never accept us.'_

 

She looked for Alec and her eyes found him instantly. She didn’t need to scan the crowd for him because she always knew exactly where he was. And as always she forced away the implications of what that meant. His eyes held hers and he nodded, as she already knew he would.

 

Max turned and joined Original Cindy and Sketchy by the ambulance. Cindy was hugging Gem goodbye. She hovered over the younger girl, concerned about Gem’s ability to keep up with the others after giving birth not more than half an hour ago. But Gem is X-5; it will hardly slow her down.

 

Normal was cradling the baby in his arms. The expression on his face when he looked at her planted the tiniest hope in Max’s heart that it didn’t always have to be this way. Max stomped on that hope before it could take root.

 

“You have to get out of here fast,” Mac urged them, worried about their ability to dodge the cops. “Do NOT get caught wearing those uniforms, or you’ll be getting an insider’s look at the federal prison system.”

 

“Don’t worry about us, boo. We be aiight. You just get your ass out of here. Go someplace new, where they don’t know who you are.”

 

It was just like OC to be more worried about Max than her own safety. How could she bear to leave such friendship behind? “I’ll come back,” Max said, blinking back tears.

 

“I know it. This is your home.”

 

Max hugged Cindy tight. “You’re my family too,” she whispered.

 

“And you’re mine, boo. For life.”

 

Sketchy gave Max a quick hug. “You’re the best, Max,” he said awkwardly. “Don’t get caught.”

 

“I won’t,” she promised. She felt a pang of regret for the way Sketchy had found out the truth about her and Alec. _'I wish we’d been honest with him a long time ago. I wish we’d trusted him that much.'_

 

“Stay outta trouble,” she added. Sketchy gave her a crooked grin.

 

Original Cindy took Max by the shoulders and gave her a gentle push. “Go on now, boo. Get outta here.”

 

Max took a deep breath and forced herself to move away, step by step towards Headquarters. Joshua intercepted her before she’d gone 15 feet. She was so focused on moving her feet one after the other that he had to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention. He smiled sadly at her. “Hey, little fella. Gotta go now. Gotta say goodbye.”

 

“Goodbye?” Max repeated, puzzled.

 

“I’m leaving with Mole and Dix.”

 

Max choked back a sob. “But Joshua, I thought that we…”

 

“No, little fella,” he said firmly, cutting her off. “Better this way. I belong with downstairs people. You belong with Alec. He needs you more.”

 

“I don’t want to lose you too!” Max wailed, devastated.

 

“Someday we find a home. You, me, everybody. That’s the plan.”

 

Max could only nod in defeat. ' _So this is my destiny. To lose my family, over and over, until I just give in.'_  Her fractured heart broke a little more. She wondered if she’d ever find all the pieces of herself, or whether she’d end up like Humpty Dumpty.

 

“That’s the plan,” she agreed in a dull voice. She hugged him. “I love you, Joshua. Please be careful.”

 

“You too, little fella.” He kissed her forehead. Then he loped across the room to where Mole and Dixon were waiting impatiently. He looked back and raised his hand in farewell, then followed the other transhumans into the night.

 

Max forced herself to continue walking to HQ. She dreaded what was to come, but she couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. She scanned the crowd for Logan and finally spotted him at the computer. He had hacked into both the sector police and Army systems. “ETA 20 minutes,” he called out, and then started disconnecting the computer.

 

She walked over to him, slowly. His hands stilled as he sensed her coming. Their eyes met and locked. For a long moment they just stood there, staring at each other. It was Logan who finally broke the silence. “You have to go, Max. I couldn’t bear it if you were caught. Not again.”

 

Max watched him watching her. She could see the hope and the need in his eyes, and she knew he was waiting to hear her say that she loved him. ' _God knows he deserves to hear those three little words from me, after everything I’ve put him through.'_  But Max just couldn’t force the words out of her mouth. And she didn’t know whether she couldn’t say the words because it was no longer true, or because it never was true, or because she just didn’t know how.

 

“I don’t want to leave.” It was all she could say past the lump in her throat. It was the truth, just not the one he wanted to hear.

 

Logan smiled gently. He knew what she meant, or what he thought she meant. “I know. I love you, too.”

 

Max felt the tears run down her face. There was nothing else to say, but she couldn’t leave, couldn’t walk away. So she just stood there. She didn’t even notice Alec approach until she felt his hand tug on her arm.

 

“Max! Max, I’m sorry but we gotta go.” 

 

She looked over her shoulder at him. He’d changed from the borrowed Phalanx uniform back into his street clothes, and he was carrying their bags with the few belongings they’d stashed at TC. The building was nearly empty now. They were almost out of time; the army would be closing in soon. Her mind registered all this, but her feet were rooted to the floor. She was leaving her home and everyone she loved, for the second time in her life. It was too much.

 

Then suddenly Original Cindy and Sketchy were there too. OC grabbed Logan’s arm and tried to drag him away. Sketchy snatched up Logan’s laptop and disks.

 

“Max, we gotta go. Now!” Alec repeated urgently.

 

The knowledge that her friends were still there, that they were in danger because of her, finally prompted Max to move. She took one last look at the three of them and then turned and ran. She followed Alec out of the building and over the perimeter fence. They kept to the side streets, moving silently through the shadows. When the sirens got too close they climbed up the fire escape of a derelict building. They crossed a good chunk of the city by jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

 

Alec stole a car outside a seedy strip club on the edge of town. It was a gangster’s black SUV, complete with 4 wheel drive and a 9mm in the glove box.

 

Alec was surprised to see that Detective Clemente hadn’t ordered barricades set up across the highways. Either the cops didn’t expect the transgenics would skip town, or they were looking for an easy solution out of this mess. Alec roared past the border control gate. At the first opportunity Alec left the interstate for the back roads. It slowed them down, but it kept them more or less out of sight. Easier too to ditch the car and travel cross-country if necessary.

 

Max slouched down in the passenger seat and stared out the window as the miles rolled by under their wheels. In her mind she relived every good memory she had of her and Logan. Chess games and dinner by candlelight…taking a “spin” in the park in the rain…eating cake together at his cousin’s wedding…the night Logan drove her Ninja…the look of joy on his face when she returned from Manticore. She lost herself in those memories, oblivious to their surroundings.

 

Sometime after 3 a.m. Alec stopped at an isolated motel. The area was heavily wooded, and there were no other cars in the lot. Alec had to pound on the door to wake up the owner. Fortunately, he was so pleased to have a paying customer he didn’t ask them any questions.

 

Alec grabbed their gear and headed for their room, Max following silently behind. She hadn’t said a word since leaving Seattle. She was locked inside her mind, drowning in her misery. Once inside their room she headed straight for the shower. Turning the water on full she slid down the tile wall to land in a heap on the shower stall floor. Hugging her knees to her chest, the water pelting her back and head, she cried out her grief and loss. When the hot water ran out she reluctantly got out and dried off. She wrapped a towel around herself and left the bathroom.

 

Alec was lying on the bed watching TV with the sound off, propped up on the pillows. He turned it off and held out his arms.

 

Max walked over to the bed and lay down beside him, her head cushioned on his shoulder, his arms wrapped around her. He cradled her against his side, both taking and giving comfort from the simple act of holding her warm body close.

 

“Seattle was my home too,” he whispered into the darkness.

 

Max stirred a little, pricked by guilt. Lost in her own misery, she’d never stopped to think about how Alec must be feeling. Seattle was the only home he’d ever known outside of Manticore. He’d had friends there who knew the truth about him and accepted him for who he was. He’d had family and a place among them. And now, like her, he was cut off, adrift. All they had left was each other. She buried her face against his chest and clutched him tightly.

 

Eventually, they both fell asleep.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Worn out by her grief, Max slept until morning. The sun woke her, shining through a gap in the curtains. Still half-asleep she snuggled closer to Alec, feeling safe and secure in his arms. The feeling only lasted until she remembered how she’d ended up sleeping next to Alec. A wave of pain swept over her as the loss bit into her again, as sharp as the night before. She choked back her tears and carefully eased out from under Alec’s arm and sat up. As she did so her towel came lose and fell open.

 

Alec was jarred awake by the sound of the small sob Max tried to suppress. He’d just started to raise one hand to pull her back into his arms when the towel fell away from her body.

 

He glimpsed one soft, round breast with its rosy nipple before hastily shutting his eyes. He heard Max snatch at the ends of the cloth and scramble off of the bed. He concentrated on trying to remember how to breathe. She was perfect, more perfect even than he’d imagined in his dreams. ' _But that’s the most I’m ever gonna see of her. She wants to be normal. She wants Logan. And don’t EVER forget that fact,'_  he told himself sternly. He stared up at the ceiling and counted backwards, trying to conquer the effect that tantalizing glimpse of her flesh had had on his body.

 

Max’s heart pounded at the thought of Alec seeing her naked. She snatched clean clothes from her bag and hurried into the bathroom to get dressed. She stared morosely at her reflection and tortured herself by remembering all the times she’d taken a hot shower at Logan’s penthouse. Her loss was a scab she kept picking at, never giving the wound a chance to heal. Because if losing Logan ever stopped hurting, then everything she’d thought and wanted and expected to happen for the last year and a half was nothing but empty hopes, dry as dust.

 

Alec knocked softly on the bathroom door, distracting her from her desolate thoughts. “Uh, Max, you gonna be in there all morning? Cuz I need a shower.”

 

Alec was leaning against the door when she opened it. She pushed past him, refusing to meet his eyes. Alec shrugged and shut the door behind him.

 

Max wandered the motel room aimlessly, too restless to watch TV. Glancing out the window, she was surprised to see trees growing right up against the building. She didn’t remember driving through a forest. In shock she realized she had no idea where they were. She simply hadn’t paid attention. For the first time in 11 years she’d failed to assess her surroundings for lines of attack and possible escape routes. She couldn’t risk being so careless again. Getting captured wouldn’t reunite her with Logan, or OC, or her family.

 

Alec emerged from the bathroom to find that Max had packed their gear and tidied the room.

 

“I’ll drive,” she said, snatching the keys from the table. Alec smiled, relieved to see Max at least trying to act like her old self again.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Many miles down the road…

 

The deputy manning the municipal border checkpoint eyed the black sports car suspiciously. The only people who could afford a car like that nowadays were generally up to no good. Like drug dealers, and mob enforcers. Not that the couple in the car looked like mob enforcers, but you never could tell with people like that. They might be in disguise.

 

“Just passing through,” Alec said with his most charming smile.

 

The deputy grunted and peered through the tinted windows into the back of the car. All he could make out were vague shapes that might be bags. ' _Drugs, maybe.'_  He jerked his chin towards the back seat. “What’cha got back there, huh?”

 

Max had her bare feet propped up on the dashboard and was in the process of painting her toenails a deep cherry red. She shifted her position, leaning over Alec’s lap so she could look out the open window at the deputy. His eyes flicked down to her chest. The neckline of her top gaped open, revealing the swell of her breasts.

 

“Hi officer,” she said in a perky voice. She smiled and batted her eyelashes at him in her best imitation of a bubble-headed blonde. She opened her eyes wide. “Oooh, is that a real gun?”

 

“Uh, yes ma’am. That is, I mean, MISS, yes MISS” he stammered. He’d never seen such a beautiful smile in his life.

 

“You must have a really dangerous job.”

 

“Well, um, I guess so, miss. It’s my job to protect the town. Make sure no undesirables come through looking to stir up trouble.”

 

Max’s eyes shone with admiration. The deputy stood a little straighter and puffed his chest out with pride.

 

“I know I’d feel safer having a big, strong man like you around.” Max bit her lower lip and stared invitingly at him.

 

The deputy cleared his throat nervously and shifted his weight. The women in town had never looked that way at him before. He blushed slightly as Max licked her lips. “You can, um, you can go on through now.” His voice was an octave lower than it had been a minute ago. He gestured in the general direction of the road, his eyes never leaving Max’s face.

 

“Thank you officer,” Alec said solemnly as he slid the car into gear.

 

Max wiggled the tips of her fingers at the deputy. “Buh bye.”

 

The deputy waved back the same way. “You take care, miss. You call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”

 

Max fell back into her seat and rolled her eyes. “Easy as shooting fish in a barrel.”

 

“On behalf of men everywhere I’d like to point out that you have unfair advantages.” Alec glanced meaningfully at her chest.

 

Max shrugged. “I didn’t make him look.”

 

“You practically shoved them in the poor guy’s face.”

 

“Don’t knock my methods. It worked, didn’t it?”

 

“One of these days we’re gonna run into the only cop in America who’s immune to your charms.”

 

“Well then, it’ll be your turn to play the tease, won’t it?”

 

“Un un. I don’t swim in that creek.”

 

“Oh, so it’s ok for me to lower myself into the mud just as long as you don’t have to.”

 

“But you’re so good at it, Maxie.”

 

Max smacked him on the shoulder with the back of her hand.

 

“Ow,” he complained. “Could you please find another body part to hit? Because I’m getting a permanent bruise on that shoulder.”

 

Max grinned evilly, her dark eyes dancing with mischief. She balled her hand into a fist and held it out over his lap, an inch above his zipper.

 

Alec quickly grabbed her wrist and moved her arm safely out of reach. “Nevermind.”

 

“Whatever you say dear,” she said in a sweet voice. ' _Dumb ass,'_  she thought fondly. ' _You walked right into that one.'_

 

Alec grinned, pleased to see Max looking so happy for once. She spent way too much time wallowing in misery. He missed their friends too, but that didn’t stop him from living his life. But for Max it was different. It was almost as if she thought being happy without her friends around to join in was somehow betraying them. As if she could only prove she loved and missed them all by being miserable.

 

Alec’s stomach grumbled. They’d been on the road for hours without a break. He slowed the car and turned into a gas station.

 

Max glanced at the fuel gauge. “Why are we stopping? We still have half a tank.”

 

“Kwik-E-Mart. I’m hungry.”

 

“Un un. No way. No more pork rinds!”

 

“What’s wrong with pork rinds?”

 

“If I eat anymore of them I’M gonna turn into a rehydrogenated pork byproduct. Can’t you buy something healthy for once, like sandwiches?”

 

“Maaax. We’re genetically enhanced, remember. We don’t need to eat healthy to look this good.”

 

“I don’t care. I’m sick of pork rinds,” Max said in exasperation. She slumped in her seat, arms crossed, and glared at Alec.

 

“Looks like someone forgot to take their happy pills today.” Alec slipped out of the car before Max could retaliate with her fist.

 

In the bar across the road the petite, blonde waitress glanced out the window and smiled in appreciation as the sleek, black car pulled into the gas station. They didn’t often see cars like that in this one-horse town. She watched with interest as the driver got out and stretched all his muscles at once like a cat. ' _Cute.'_  Her eyes narrowed as she watched him saunter the short distance into the store. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn’t place where she’d seen him before.

 

She tossed down the rag she’d been using to wipe the tables and left the bar. She jiggled impatiently on the curb as a big truck rumbled past, and then darted across the road. She skirted the pumps and rushed for the door. She yanked it open and nearly collided with the driver of the sports car on his way out.

 

“Whoops. Careful,” he said, his hazel eyes twinkling merrily at her. “We wouldn’t want to get a scratch on someone as pretty as you.”

 

She stared mesmerized at his eyes. *Where have I seen those eyes before?*

 

Alec grinned at the pretty blonde in front of him. He was used to getting that reaction from women, although this one was a little more stunned than most. She hadn’t said a word, just stared at him with her eyes wide and mouth slightly open. _'The local gents must not be much to look at,'_ he thought with an inward chuckle.

 

He winked and then sidestepped her. Max would beat him bloody if she caught him flirting with some girl. Especially when she was sitting three feet away, waiting for him. He hopped in the car and tossed the bag of goodies in Max’s lap.

 

“ALEC!” she shouted as she held up a bag of pork rinds.

 

“Those are mine,” he said defensively and snatched the bag from her hands. “You get a ham sandwich.”

 

The blonde girl’s mind raced, trying to place his features. Hazel eyes, dark blonde hair, and a small dimple. Then suddenly it clicked and she felt as if a giant hand had punched her in the gut. “Ben,” she whispered.

 

Recognition came too late. The car had already pulled away and turned onto the highway leading out of town. It picked up speed, and soon he would be gone forever.

 

She spun and raced back across the road to the bar. She didn’t notice the screech of tires as a car swerved to avoid her. She burst through the door with such force that it rebounded off the wall and slammed shut behind her. She raced for the back room and fumbled in her jacket pocket for her cell. She jabbed speed dial with one shaking finger and paced back and forth as it rang and rang.

 

“C’mon, c’mon. Pick it up!” She nervously played with a lock of her hair, winding it around and around her finger.

 

Finally the phone stopped ringing. "Al’s mechanics," said a muffled voice, as if the speaker had lodged the phone under his chin.

 

"Zane! Zane, you have to get over here, now! He was here but now he’s gone but if we hurry we can still catch him on the road so get your ass over here RIGHT NOW!"

 

"Whoa, Jondy slow down. You’re not making any sense."

 

"He just left. We can still catch up to him but we gotta move fast," she said impatiently.

 

"Who, Jon? Who do we have to catch up to?"

 

"Ben!"

 

"Ben? That’s impossible," Zane whispered in disbelief.

 

"I just saw him. He was right in front of me, only I was too slow and he got away."

 

"But Jon, Ben’s dead. He’s been dead for over a year."

 

"No! He’s alive. Zack was wrong."

 

"Zack would never be wrong about something like that. He wouldn’t tell us unless he was absolutely sure."

 

"But I saw him." Jondy was frustrated and angry that Zane didn’t believe her. The longer they argued about it, the further away Ben got.

 

"No, Jon. You only thought you saw him."

 

"I looked into his eyes, Zane. It was him," she insisted.

 

"A lot of people have hazel eyes," Zane said gently.

 

"Don’t patronize me. I know what I saw."

 

"Whoever you saw, he wasn’t our brother. He’s just someone who looks like him."

 

"But he had Ben’s eyes," she pleaded.

 

"Jondy, don’t do this to yourself. Ben’s gone. He’s with the Blue Lady now. Let it go."

 

Jondy blinked back her tears. "I was so sure," she whispered in a defeated voice.

 

"I wish it was him. But it’s not. It can’t be. It’s just not possible."

 

"Yeah, I guess," Jondy said sadly.

 

"Jon, I’m sorry. Look, I’m coming over. Don’t move."

 

"No Zane, don’t. I’m fine."

 

"You sure?"

 

"Yeah, I'm sure. I kinda want to be on my own right now."

 

Jondy hung up the phone. She sniffed and swiped at the tears that coursed down her cheeks. Of their own accord, her feet turned her around and led her out of the bar to the side of the road. For a long time she stood there and stared in the direction where the mysterious guy with Ben’s eyes had disappeared.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Max stood fuming at the side of the road, her arms crossed and one foot tapping impatiently. Alec was bent over double and rummaging through the junk in the back of the car. Her eyes strayed to his ass. Her foot slowed its pace and a small smile tugged at her lips. Her eyes went wide as she realized where her train of thought was headed. She hastily snatched her gaze away. 'E _w!'_  she reminded herself.

 

“Hurry it up already. That flat tire isn’t going to change itself, you know.” Her voice sounded strained even to her ears.

 

“Apparently I won’t be changing it either,” Alec said in disgust as he stood up straight. “No spare tire.”

 

“What?!” Max rushed to the back of the car. No spare tire in sight. ' _Great. Just great. How the hell are we supposed to stay out of White’s clutches if we don’t have a getaway car?'_  In sheer frustration Max punched Alec on the shoulder.

 

“Ow! What the hell was that for?”

 

“Way to go, genius. I can’t believe you stole a car without a spare tire.”

 

“How was I supposed to know we’d get a flat? And for the record, I don’t recall hearing you complain about my choice of vehicle before now.”

 

“Shut up.” Max glared at him. She knew he was right, but when had that ever stopped her from taking her anger and frustration out on him? He was her personal punching bag. Because he let her get away with it. No matter how many insults she hurled at him, he just smirked at her and shrugged it off like it was nothing. Which, in its own way, was almost as annoying as whatever he’d done to irritate her in the first place. ' _Why can’t he ever take anything seriously? If White’s on our tail right now, we’re screwed.'_

 

“We’re stranded in the middle of fucking nowhere and it’s all your fault!” she yelled. “What the hell are we supposed to do now?”

 

“It’s called walking, Max. You put one foot in front of the other and--”

 

Max snatched his bag out of the car and tossed it straight at his chest. He grabbed it out of the air easily and slung it on his back.

 

“Oh c’mon, Maxie. It’s not that bad. A little exercise never hurt anyone. And just smell that fresh air.” Alec took a deep breath and threw his arms wide like he was part of an anti-histamine commercial.

 

Max pointed to the dark storm clouds hovering above them. “It’s going to rain. I HATE the rain,” she said petulantly.

 

“Why? Afraid you might melt?” He grinned, amused by the mental image of Max dressed like the Wicked Witch.

 

Max rolled her eyes and stalked off down the road.

 

Alec had to jog to catch up with her. He draped one arm around her shoulder. “So how do you wanna pass the time? I Spy? Twenty Questions? Wait, I know, how about Truth or Dare?” He winked at her.

 

Max shrugged off his arm and glared at him through narrowed eyes. “How about you shut up or I’ll kick your ass,” she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

 

“There you go again, always obsessing about my ass. I told you, if you want to see it all you have to do is ask.” Alec wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and gave her a cocky grin. He knew he should stop baiting her before he ended up bruised, but he couldn’t resist. Max was so alive, so passionate when she was angry. At times like that Alec couldn’t take his eyes off her. It was like warming yourself in front of a roaring fire on a cold winter’s night; if you get too close you know you’ll get singed, but the heat is irresistible.

 

“Could you just be quiet for 5 minutes or is that too much to ask for?” Max snapped.

 

“Don’t tell me you’d rather listen to the birds sing.” Alec danced back a few steps as Max’s hand curled into a fist. “Geez, Max, you never heard of saying ‘please’?”

 

“Stop talking. Please,” Max snarled through gritted teeth. She knew he was annoying her on purpose, but just then she didn’t appreciate his efforts to distract her from her dark thoughts. She could taste her anger and bitterness, like bile in the back of her throat. Her entire life was a series of misfortunes and disasters. Sometimes it was all she could do to keep from howling in rage at the unfairness of it all.

 

“Sure thing, Maxie. Whatever you say.” Alec shoved his hands in his pockets and trudged along next to her, a small pout on his lips. He kicked at a rock.

 

Max rolled her eyes and started counting the seconds in her head. When she got to 30, Alec heaved a big sigh and mumbled something under his breath that sounded like “nature-lover, my ass.”

 

“Alec!” Max slapped him on the arm in exasperation.

 

“What? What did I do now?” he asked defensively.

 

“You’re annoying me.”

 

“Yeah I kinda figured that out, what with all the hitting and the yelling.”

 

“And yet, you’re still talking.”

 

“I’m bored,” Alec whined in his best little-boy-lost voice.

 

“Well, too bad. You should’ve thought of that before you stole a car without a spare tire.”

 

Alec shook his head in disbelief at this display of irrational logic. “What am I, psychic? How the hell was I supposed to know some yahoo would pick that precise spot of pavement to smash his beer bottle on, leaving us without a viable means of transportation?”

 

Max growled in irritation and increased her pace. Her boot heels drummed angrily against the road. “Fine. You’re right. You’re always right. You’re Alec-the-fucking-magnificent. Now stop gloating.”

 

Alec picked out the faint sound of an approaching vehicle. He grinned and tugged on her sleeve. “Oh Maaax, here’s your big chance.”

 

“To do what?”

 

Alec gestured behind them at the oncoming pick-up truck. “Get us a ride. Guys always stop for hot chicks. Just show him a little skin.”

 

“No way!” she protested indignantly.

 

The first fat drops of rain splashed the dust on the road.

 

“Would you rather stay out here in the rain?”

 

“And what if it’s White and his goons?”

 

“Oh c’mon, Maxie. Listen to it. That thing sounds like it belongs in the junkyard. Can you seriously picture White behind the wheel of a broken-down pickup truck? The man wears designer suits to go crawling through the sewers.”

 

Grumbling under her breath, Max cocked one hand on her hip and stuck the other out in the classic gesture of a hitchhiker. She scowled at Alec for being right, again.

 

“Uh Max, a smile would be a lot more enticing than that devil’s glare of yours. We want the guy to stop and pick us up, not flee in terror for his life.”

 

Max bared her teeth in a parody of a smile.

 

“Right. How about I smile for the both of us.”

 

The mud-spattered, rickety truck wheezed to a stop in a cloud of blue exhaust. The driver cranked open the passenger-door window. He tipped his greasy ball cap back on his head and scratched his grizzled hair with the tips of his stubby fingers. He peered at them and then craned his neck to look out the back window at their abandoned car.

 

“You folks having car trouble?”

 

“Yeah,” Max answered, glaring in Alec’s direction.

 

The farmer nodded sagely. “Yep. That’s the trouble with them foreign cars. Unreliable, the whole lot of ‘em.”

 

Max smirked sweetly. “That’s what I told him, but do you think he’d listen to me?”

 

The farmer grinned, revealing a mouthful of chipped, tobacco-stained teeth. “I can take you as far as the truck stop. Mechanic there’ll help you out.”

 

“Thanks.” Max shoved her bag at Alec and hopped into the truck. Alec dumped their bags in the back and squeezed into the cab after Max.

 

“Pretty little thing like you should be out wandering the roads. It’s not safe.” The farmer leered at Max and then reached out and patted her knee. Max suppressed a shudder and instinctively scooted closer to Alec, her jean-clad leg pressing up against his. Alec had to resist a sudden urge to break the man’s fingers.

 

The pick-up truck pulled away with a belch of smoke. It rattled and clattered its way down the road, jarring them painfully with every rut and bump. Alec eyed the door, concerned it might fly open at any time and dump him painfully on the road.

 

“So where you headed for?”

 

“Uh, nowhere in particular. Just, you know, wandering,” Max answered vaguely.

 

“You kids nowadays.” The farmer shook his head, a baffled look on his face. “Always in a hurry to get outta town and see the world. What’s wrong with staying where you came from, huh? That’s what I’d like to know.”

 

“Ummm…” Max glanced over at Alec for help. He shrugged. Telling this guy they’d escaped from a secret military facility and were on the run from the government agent who was in charge of hunting them down and who also happened to belong to a twisted breeding cult that wanted them dead so they could take over the world was definitely out of the question.

 

“M’ only boy left town a while back. You’d think the little bugger’d call his old man once in a while, just to let me know he’s alright. Nope. Too much trouble. Damn fool.” The farmer turned and smiled toothily at Max. “But you’re not like that, are you sweetheart.” He took the opportunity to touch Max again, this time slightly higher up her leg.

 

Max leaned even closer into Alec, their bodies touching from shoulder to hip and hip to knee. Alec tried to ignore the feel of her pressed up against him by concentrating on the passing scenery. Not that there was much to see. The rain was coming down hard now. Big, fat drops splattered on the windshield and reduced visibility to a few feet. The farmer hunched over the steering wheel and peered out the window, suddenly too busy to carry on their one-sided conversation. The wipers moved fitfully, barely cleaning the window with each pass.

 

Max relaxed against Alec, her head on his shoulder and one hand resting lightly on his thigh. Alec tilted his head and breathed in the clean, fruity scent of her shampoo. He stopped himself just in time from kissing the top of her head. ' _Really, really bad idea,'_  he told himself. ' _Max might tolerate that kind of thing during times of emotional crisis, but this hardly qualifies.'_

 

The drive to the truck stop seemed to take forever, but eventually the farmer dropped them off outside the garage. Max practically shoved Alec out the door in her haste to get away from their ride before he tried to hug her goodbye.

 

“Thanks a lot. Big help. Bye,” she called over her shoulder as she hopped out. She slammed the door shut on whatever he might have said in return.

 

“Creep,” Max muttered under her breath as the truck’s tail-lights disappeared into the rain. She spun around and smacked Alec on the arm.

 

“Ow! What the hell did I do this time?”

 

“You should’ve traded places with me instead of making me sit next to that pervert.” She shuddered in disgust as she remembered the feel of his meaty hand on her leg. She smacked Alec a second time.

 

“Ok, you have serious anger control issues,” he said, rubbing his arm.

 

“No I don’t,” Max said indignantly. “I could’ve broken that creep’s arm but I didn’t, did I?”

 

“Yeah, but if you hit me any harder you’re gonna break MY arm.”

 

“Oh suck it up, pretty boy.”

 

“Look, if I buy you a piece of pie will you stop hitting me?” Alec gestured across the lot at a faded sign in the diner window advertising home-made pies.

 

Max considered the offer for several seconds. “With ice cream on top.”

 

“Fine, with ice cream on top. Now can we please get in out of the rain?”

 

 

~*~

 

 

' _This is all your fault Zane,'_  Jondy thought grumpily. ' _If you hadn’t been so stubborn I’d be warm and dry inside your truck right now instead of freezing my ass off on my bike.'_

 

Riding in the dark in the rain on a motorcycle is not a pleasant experience, particularly for someone with feline DNA. Her clothes were soaked and her wet hair clung to her skull and sent a steady trickle of water under her collar and down her spine. She shivered and growled in irritation.

 

To distract herself from her discomfort, Jondy tried to decide which of her brothers were more to blame. Zane really should’ve known better than to doubt her. As if someone with a perfect memory would mistake her brother’s eyes for those of a complete stranger. Of course, if only Ben had recognized her at the gas station the way she’d recognized him, she wouldn’t be out in the rain chasing him down in the first place.

 

Jondy almost drove right past the car. In the rain and the darkness, it was nearly invisible. She slammed on the brakes and fought to keep the bike upright as it skidded on the wet asphalt. She laughed aloud in relief. At least now she knew for sure that she was on the right track.

 

She peered through the rain at the car. ' _Why the hell would anyone leave a car like this behind?'_  She walked around the car. No visible damage and no bullet holes, which meant he hadn’t been forced off the road. She pressed her nose to the cold glass and cupped her hands around her eyes. The car was empty, all traces of its owner gone. ' _So where’d you go, Ben?'_

 

Jondy glanced up and down the empty stretch of highway and then crouched at the side of the road. She sighed. The grass was so water-logged that if he had gone cross country, there was no trace of his route now. She kicked the back tire in frustration, which was how she discovered the flat. ' _What, no spare?'_  She shook her head in fond exasperation at Ben’s carelessness. ' _How come men never remember to pack the little things until it’s too late?'_

 

' _Slow down, Ben,'_  she mentally called after him as she hopped back on her bike. ' _What’s the rush? Give a girl a chance to catch up.'_

 

She travelled slowly, her eyes constantly scanning the side of the road for any sign of Ben. She was worn out and frustrated by the time she reached the truck stop. She parked her bike with a sigh of relief, grateful for the chance to get in out of the rain.

 

Jondy pushed open the door to the diner harder than she needed to, letting in a cold gust of wind and rain. The customer sitting closest to the door grumbled under his breath and gave her a disgusted look. Jondy glared back at him until he looked away. She wasn’t in the mood to put up with much from anyone.

 

She sighed in disappointment as a quick glance around the restaurant revealed no sign of Ben. ' _Damn it, Ben. Don’t you have the sense to get in out of the rain?'_

 

She squeezed the excess water from her hair and then stomped over to the counter. Her wet jeans chaffed her cold skin and her boots squelched noisily. Even her socks were soaking wet. She grimaced in discomfort and annoyance.

 

The tired, middle-aged waitress behind the counter yanked a tattered pad from her apron pocket and pulled a pencil from behind her ear. “What’ll it be?” she asked in a bored voice.

 

“Uh, just coffee thanks.” As hungry as she was, Jondy didn’t have time to stop for a meal. She couldn’t afford to let Ben get too far ahead of her.

 

The waitress shrugged indifferently and poured Jondy a cup of strong, hot coffee. She went back to filling the salt shakers, but she kept a close watch on Jondy out of the corner of her eye.

 

Jondy took one sip of the coffee and grimaced. It tasted vaguely like motor oil. She wrapped her cold fingers around the cup in a vain attempt to thaw them out. “Hey, uh, Doris,” Jondy said with a glance at the woman’s name tag, “maybe you can help me out. I’m looking for a friend of mine. He’s 6 feet tall, has dark blond hair, green eyes, and a really cute smile. We were supposed to meet up earlier but I got delayed and he didn’t wait for me. Any chance he came through here?”

 

She was cold, wet, and hungry and all she wanted was to find her brother and take a long hot shower. Not necessarily in that order. Impatience tinged her voice and made her eyes hard.

 

Doris glanced at Jondy suspiciously. ' _Friend my fanny, sweetheart. If you two are so close, how come you don’t know he’s got a girl with him?'_

 

Three strangers passing through in one day was a rare enough occurrence in these parts. That one of them should be following the other two and asking questions was like something out of a crime movie on TV. This was the most interesting thing to happen to Doris in ages.

 

Jondy’s heart raced when she caught sight of the look in the woman’s eyes. ' _She’s knows something!'_  Jondy smiled sweetly and tried to look innocent and trustworthy, which wasn’t easy given that she wanted to leap across the counter and wring the information out of the woman.

 

“It’s really important that I find him. I have some news for him, about his family.”

 

' _Yeah, right. How gullible to you think I am? I bet dollars to doughnuts he chose that other girl over you and you just can’t stand it.'_  Doris made up her mind. A cute couple like that didn’t need this one following them around causing trouble. This girl had attitude oozing out of her pores, and whatever she was up to was bound to be no good. Doris forced a friendly smile to her lips.

 

“Yeah, he was here earlier. Seemed like a real nice fellow.”

 

Jondy’s eyes lit up. She was so happy she could’ve danced on the tables. “Where’d he go?” she demanded eagerly, leaning forward slightly over the counter. She pinned the woman with her gaze.

 

The hungry look in Jondy’s eyes confirmed Doris’s suspicions. ' _Hussy!'_  she thought indignantly.

 

“He bummed a ride with a trucker a while back,” she lied. “Went that way.” And she pointed in the opposite direction of Max and Alec’s car, where even now Jake the mechanic was busy replacing their flat tire.

 

“Thanks!” In her excitement, Jondy forgot all about the rain, her wet clothes, and her discomfort. She jumped off her stool, tossed two bucks on the counter to pay for the coffee, and raced out the door.

 

Doris smiled grimly. “Drive safe.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

Many more miles down the road…

 

Max sat slumped in the passenger seat of the black sports car, her fingers tapping impatiently against her knee. Alec was inside the motel paying for a room for the night. Max had lost count of how many seedy, run-down motels they’d stayed at since leaving Seattle. They were drifting randomly across the country, constantly on the move, never staying longer than a night or two in any one place.

 

The matronly woman at the counter glanced out the window and gave Max a look that she privately called the 'you poor dear' look. Max sighed and tried to look forlorn and pathetic. In every town they’d drifted into Alec made up some sad story about a tragic death in the family, or a terminal illness. It was horrid, but it worked. People don’t pry or ask too many questions when they’ve just been told death is involved. Complete strangers suddenly became protective of her and Alec’s privacy.

 

Max slumped further in her seat and pressed the tips of her fingers to her throbbing temples. She could feel another headache starting. She’d been getting them a lot lately, the result of thinking too much or trying not to think at all. Today she was desperately trying not to think about why they hadn’t run into any other transgenics. Today it was all she could do to repress the urge to turn the car around and go home.

 

It was different for Alec. He just accepted the fact that someday they’d see their family again and got on with living. But too many things had been ripped away from her already, and she had no faith left that she’d ever see any of them again.

 

The lady at the counter gave Max another sad look as Alec left the motel office, room key in hand. He sighed when he saw her dejected posture, concern clearly written in his eyes.

 

' _Don’t I have a right to be dejected?'_  she asked him silently. ' _I lost everyone I cared about in a single night, except for you.'_

 

Funny how life works out.

 

A year ago she couldn’t imagine any fate worse than living on the run with Alec. But that was only because she’d refused to see him as anything other than the cocky, annoying, smart-aleck who was constantly in her face, complicating her life, and generally behaving like a complete pain in the ass. Which he still was, most of the time. Only now she couldn’t imagine a day without him. He made her forget, made her laugh. He was her rock. He was all she had left.

 

It would be a very cold day in hell before she’d ever tell him any of that.

 

Max grabbed their bags out of the back and trudged across the parking lot to their room. She dumped their stuff on the floor and looked around. The room was shabby and faded, but at least it was clean.

 

Alec shrugged out of his jacket and flopped down on the end of the bed. “C’mere,” he said and patted the mattress beside him.

 

Max sank down onto the bed with a sigh. Alec reached out and began to massage her sore neck muscles. Her eyes slid closed and her head drooped forward as the tension slowly eased from her body. “Mmmm,” she murmured contentedly.

 

“Better?” he whispered in her ear. His warm breath brushed her neck and sent a small shiver down her back.

 

She nodded. “Thanks. I knew there was a reason I put up with you.”

 

“Is that all I am to you, Maxie? Slave labour?”

 

“Well, yeah.” She bit her lower lip to keep from grinning.

 

He flashed her a cocky grin. “Hey, without me around to keep you in line you’d probably deck some guy for making a remark about your ass and end up in jail.”

 

“Funny.” She elbowed him in the ribs, more out of habit than because she was irritated by his remark. She sighed and leaned against his chest. She had her back to him and couldn’t see the devilish twinkle in Alec’s eyes, so she had no warning of what was to come. Alec slid his hands from her shoulders to her ribs and then started to tickle her.

 

Max giggled and tried to squirm out of his reach. She fell back against the bed and he threw one leg over hers to pin her down. He tickled her ferociously, knowing all her most sensitive spots. She laughed hysterically, helplessly as his fingers danced along her ribs and over her stomach.

 

“Hee hee hee hee…no, stop…hee hee hee hee hee…don’t…hee hee hee hee…stop, I can’t, hee hee, breathe” she pleaded through her giggles.

 

She swatted at him feebly, tears streaming down her face. He finally took pity on her and stopped. She lay gasping for breath, her sides heaving.

 

“Evil bastard,” she muttered. But she smiled up at him, a happy grin that lit up her face and chased the shadows from her eyes.

 

Without thinking Alec closed the gap between them and captured her mouth with his. Her lips were soft and pliant, and she tasted sweet, like cherry vanilla.

 

Max gasped at the feel of his mouth on hers. He ran the tip of his tongue along the velvety inside of her bottom lip. Her lips parted slightly, and he slid his tongue all the way into her mouth. His tongue teased hers, coaxing it, caressing it.

 

The kiss was so gentle and yet so intense, a delicious contradiction that sent a jolt of electricity down her spine to her center. The feel of his body pressed against the length of hers made her skin tingle. She felt a familiar, hollow ache deep inside her. It had been so long since anyone had touched her this way. Desire coursed through her veins, sharp and almost frightening in its intensity. She’d never felt so hungry for a male, not even during Heat. She was caught up in a whirlwind of sensation as he plundered her mouth.

 

She could only surrender as he delved into her mouth, tasting her, letting her taste him. He tangled his hands in her hair and tilted her head to give him greater access. Their tongues duelled and mated, foreshadowing a more intimate dance yet to come.

 

She shivered in anticipation and kissed him back hungrily. Her hands slid up his back to his strong shoulders, marvelling at the feel of his firm muscles. She moved her hands up to caress his barcode, and then up higher still to twine her fingers in his hair, and pressed his mouth more firmly against hers. She arched her back, her soft breasts pressing against his hard chest. Her nipples hardened, straining against the thin layer of cloth that separated their skin.

 

He moaned softly against her lips and kissed her fiercely. He wanted more, wanted all of her. He was drowning in the taste of her, the feel of her soft body pinned beneath his, the scent of her desire. He crushed her lips with his, urgent and demanding now as she gave herself up to him.

 

Her head spun dizzily as he deepened the kiss. She never wanted it to end. No one had ever kissed her with so much passion before. Not even Logan.

 

' _Oh god, Logan!'_  Her eyes went wide and her whole body stiffened. She was pummelled by wave after wave of guilt and self-loathing. ' _How could I betray Logan like this?'_

 

She wrenched her lips away and shoved Alec hard in the chest. He flew off of her and landed on his ass on the floor, stunned. She scrambled off the bed and backed away across the room.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She scrubbed the back of her hand across her lips. Alec’s eyes went dark as he watched her try to wipe away the taste of him.

 

“Keep it in your goddamned pants!” she shouted, furious at what she had almost let happen between them. ' _No, at what he tried to MAKE happen between us. This is all his fault! I would never choose to kiss him. I love Logan.'_  She’d clung to that belief for so long, like a talisman, that she didn’t know how to let go of it.

 

“Oh, so I was kissing myself was I?” he shouted back, stung by the accusation behind her words. She had kissed him back. He hadn’t imagined it. ' _She’s just too blind and stubborn to admit she wants me just like I want her.'_

 

“Try it next time,” Max growled. “Because you’ll have better luck. This is NEVER going to happen. I am NEVER going to sleep with you.”

 

“Why not? Afraid you might enjoy it too much?”

 

“Get over yourself, Alec. You’re not God’s gift. To anyone.”

 

“Oh, and I supposed Logan is?”

 

“He and I are meant to be together!”

 

“C’mon Max, open your eyes. If it’s fate, how come every time you two get close something pushes you apart? Face it. Your relationship with Logan is a cosmic joke. It isn’t real.” Alec’s voice was thick with scorn.

 

“Because of you!” she shrieked. “You’re a selfish bastard who just tried to take advantage of a situation that’s all your fault to start with! The only thing you care about is your next score.” She knew she was being horribly unfair to him, but she couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out. It was so much easier to be angry with him than to face the consequences of her own actions. So much easier to yell and lash out than acknowledge the desire coursing through her veins.

 

“And you’re only clinging to your it’s-not-like-that relationship with Logan so that you don’t have to face reality. At least I’M willing to put my heart on the line and go after what I want.”

 

Her lips burned with the memory of his mouth on hers. She used her guilt as a prod to force out a denial. “I know what I want and it sure as hell isn’t you.”

 

“Liar. You kissed me back. Jammed your tongue down my throat to be exact. You’re just too damned scared to admit it.”

 

That hit too close to the mark. “The thought of sleeping with you repulses me. You repulse me.” Max needed to wipe that cocky look off his face, the one that said she was over-reacting and protesting way too much. “I should’ve let your head explode,” she hissed.

 

Alec recoiled from the venom in her words as if she’d reached out and slapped him on the face.

 

Part of her was thrilled to see the look of pain in his eyes. ' _He deserves to suffer. This is all his fault. I’d be with Logan right now if it weren’t for him.'_  She balled her hands into fists.

 

' _She actually means it.'_  He stared dumbly at her, unable to breathe, unable to think past the pain. His soul shrivelled at the look of hatred and disgust in her eyes. He spun on his heel and stumbled blindly out the door. It slammed shut behind him, leaving her alone.

 

Alone. Suddenly she was terribly afraid she’d finally crossed the line and pushed him too far. Her numb legs gave out and she collapsed in a heap on the floor. The look of hurt in his eyes was seared into her brain.

 

“Oh god, what have I done?” she whispered to the empty room.

 

Alec fled across the deserted motel parking lot towards the highway. He glanced up and down, hoping for a truck he could catch a ride with. Escape and evade. His gaze fell on the neon sign of a bar 500 feet away. He stalked down the road to the bar and flung open the door. The local good ol’ boys looked up from their beers and then immediately glanced away again when they saw the look on his face. Anyone who looked like he did definitely needed a drink or three to drown his sorrows. Dart games and conversations started up again.

 

Alec threw himself onto a stool at the bar. “Double scotch, neat,” he ordered.

 

The bartender nodded solemnly and poured him a generous measure. Alec slammed back the alcohol, needing the familiar burn to dull the pain of the noose he’d tied around his own heart. The bartender refilled his glass without being asked. Alec drained that one too, and signalled for a third. This time he cradled the glass in his hand and stared mesmerized at the play of lights on the amber liquid.

 

He was pissed off. Angry at her, angry at himself, angry at the whole fucking mess. He refused to admit the guilt that hovered just beneath the anger. He’d done nothing to feel guilty about. Right? All he’d done was take a chance, put his heart on the line and gone after what he wanted. It was the only way to live. And if Max couldn’t deal with it, well that was her problem.

 

 _So, no regrets?_  asked a small voice inside his head.

 

' _Nope,'_  Alec answered firmly.

 

_None at all for moving in on Logan’s girl?_

 

' _Like hell,'_  he snorted. ' _Logan_ _had his chance and blew it. The guy obviously had no clue what to do with a girl like Max.'_  He studiously ignored the small prick of guilt that dug at his ribs. If Max and Logan weren’t together in the first place, then it wasn’t cheating. Right?

 

 _And what about Max?_  the voice persisted in asking.  _Any regrets where she’s concerned?_

 

' _Uh, no.'_  Alec's conviction faltered slightly. ' _Nope. None,'_  he repeated. That was the key to a good cover story. Tell yourself something often enough, you’ll start to believe it yourself. And if you believe it, everyone else will too. Alec had always been very good at sticking to his cover story. It was one of the reasons Manticore had chosen him for solo missions.

 

So what if he’d gambled and lost. So what if he’d ruined their friendship. Screw it. At least he’d tried. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. He’d finish his drink and walk out of here. Start over someplace else.

 

 _It’s not that simple_ , the voice argued.

 

' _Doesn’t matter what I want,'_  he argued back. ' _Max wants to see the back of me. She’s been telling me to get lost since the day we met. So I’m gone.'_

 

_What happened to putting your heart on the line?_

 

' _I just tried that, remember? And I got assaulted for it.'_

 

 _No, you tried to seduce her,_ the voice pointed out.  _Not necessarily the same thing. Tell her how you feel._

 

Alec snorted. ' _Yeah, right. Max would never listen to a declaration of love from me. She’d either beat me bloody before I got halfway through, or she’d kill herself laughing.'_

 

 _You sure about that?_  the voice inquired politely.

 

Alec heard her footsteps behind him and cursed himself for a fool. He should’ve stolen one of the cars parked outside the bar, not come in for a drink. He stared straight ahead at the bottles lining the back wall of the bar.

 

Max flopped gracelessly onto a stool next to him. “I’m sorry. I reacted…badly.”

 

She stared at her hands, too embarrassed and ashamed of herself to look him in the eye. She’d treated him like he was less than nothing to her when the truth was he was the only thing in her world that made any sense right now. She’d been running from that simple truth for so long now, unable to deal with the fact that the one person she couldn’t live without wasn’t who she thought it should be.

 

Alec took another sip of scotch and refused to look over at her. As far as apologies from Max went, it was better than most. But it still didn’t solve anything.

 

Max glanced over at him. His spine was stiff, and she could feel the anger radiating off of him. ' _How did things get so turned around between us?'_  SHE had every right to be angry with HIM for kissing her and making her feel something she never wanted to. So how come SHE was the one grovelling and asking for forgiveness?

 

Her jaw clenched. ' _The least he could do is acknowledge my presence. Would that be too much to ask for after he shoved his tongue down my throat?'_  Max stood abruptly. ' _Screw this. And screw him.'_

 

She opened her mouth to toss one last bitchy comment in his direction before storming out of the bar. Out of the corner of her eye she saw his knuckles turn white as he clenched the glass in his hand. She watched as he forced his hand to ease up the pressure before he crushed the glass. Very deliberately he set the glass down on the counter. As soon as he let go his hand curled into a fist. He brought it to his mouth and bit the knuckle.

 

He was so angry.

 

 _And he has every right to be,_  whispered a small voice in side her head.  _What’s an unwelcome kiss compared to the things you said to him?_

 

Max swallowed her pride, her anger, her confusion. Because none of that mattered compared to the need to make things right between them. She didn’t deserve his forgiveness and she’d never needed anything more in her life. The simple truth was she couldn’t do this on her own. She couldn’t get through this without Alec.

 

She sank back down on the stool. “It’s complicated,” she said, unsure of where or how to begin.

 

“It’s only as complicated as you make it. If you’re so in love with him, why haven’t you called him?” His voice was carefully controlled, without a trace of emotion in it.

 

Max fiddled with a beer coaster, turning it over and over in her hands. His simple question cut to the heart of the matter. Because if she truly loved Logan as she claimed she did, why hadn’t she called him yet? Why were her memories of him fading? Why did she have to remind herself every night of what he looked like? Why was she holding on so tight to a ghost of a relationship?

 

She shrugged. “What am I supposed to say? I can’t go back there and he won’t leave Seattle. Doesn’t leave us with much.”

 

“You could tell him you’re alright. You could tell him you miss him. Hell, you could have phone sex with him. It would be a step up for you two.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. He tensed, waiting for Max to explode in anger.

 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her lower lip tremble slightly.

 

“Sorry. Cheap shot,” he muttered guiltily.

 

“But true,” Max whispered, so quietly he almost missed it, even with his enhanced hearing.

 

Alec tossed back the rest of his scotch and gently set the glass back on the table. He had no idea what to say to her.

 

“The worst mistake of my life was splitting up from my brothers and sisters when we escaped. I couldn’t do this again, alone.” She looked over at him, a desolate look on her face. “I shouldn’t have said what I did. I didn’t mean it. Without you, I’d be lost. You’re my best friend, Alec. It’s just that I’m…stuck.” She struggled to find the right words. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve fallen into a frozen river, and I’m trapped under the ice. I can see the shore, I just can’t get there.”

 

Alec knew that feeling. He’d felt the same way after losing Rachel.

 

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered. “I know I don’t deserve it. But please don’t go.”

 

She sounded so lost and alone, it broke his heart to hear it. She needed him. It wasn’t what he wanted from her, but anything was better than not having her in his life at all.

 

Alec turned his hand over and held it out towards her, palm up. Max laid her small hand in his larger one and linked their fingers together.


	5. Chapter 5

Two weeks later…

 

Max planted one hand on her hip and scowled in frustration. A plastic shopping basket dangled from her other hand. She’d spent the last half hour scouring the aisles of this dingy, cramped grocery store in search of something edible to eat that didn’t come out of a can. So far it was proving to be a vain search. Even by the ridiculously low standards of post-Pulse America, the selection in this place was pathetic. The contents of the shelf in front of her were a perfect example. Bottles of booze and cases of ammo lined the top three shelves. Anything remotely nutritious was crammed together on the bottom shelf. It was a pretty clear indication of where priorities stood in this town.

 

With a heavy sigh she bent and snagged a couple of tins of tuna off the lowest shelf. She tossed them carelessly into her basket, not caring in the least if they crushed the loaf of bread already there.

 

' _Sandwiches again,'_  she thought morosely. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. ' _Enough of this hiding-in-the-middle-of-nowhere crap. We need to get back to civilization NOW. I want a decent meal for a change.'_  Her stomach rumbled in agreement.

 

She thought wistfully of Logan’s fabulous garlic chicken. Maybe it was her feline DNA or maybe just nostalgia for a home-cooked meal after weeks of eating at roadside diners, but just then it seemed like nothing had ever tasted as good as that chicken. Logan used to marinate it for hours and then slowly roast it until the meat was so tender it fell from the bones. Her mouth watered just thinking about it. Whatever his faults, that man could cook.

 

Max glanced over at Alec. He was standing several feet away from her with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. Irritation swelled up inside of her at the distance between them. Her scowl deepened.

 

Alec cocked an eyebrow at her. “Damn. Looks like your face really can freeze that way.” His lips curved into a sardonic grin.

 

Her hand twitched at her side. She wanted to smack him, just to prove everything was normal in their world, but he stood out of her reach. She had to settle for rolling her eyes at him in disgust. And then she turned her back on him so he couldn’t see her face.

 

Two feet was as close as he ever got to her now, and it was slowly driving her insane. And it didn’t help matters any that he looked incredibly sexy in his jeans and leather jacket.

 

By mutual agreement they hadn’t talked about the kiss since the night it happened. Max had honestly thought they could just put it behind them. Forget about it and move on. No big deal. Sure they’d said some nasty things – alright, SHE had – but nothing worse than any other fight they’d ever had.

 

And on the surface at least their friendship seemed to have survived the beating it took that night, but maybe that was just because they only had each other out here more than anything else. They still sounded like their old selves, most of the time. If Max closed her eyes she could almost convince herself nothing had changed.

 

Except that Alec hadn’t touched her since.

 

' _How ironic,'_  she thought bitterly. ' _Logan_ _can’t and Alec won’t.'_

 

He’d closed himself off behind his tricks-and-treats, smart-aleck mask, the one that said he didn’t care about anyone or anything other than himself. She hadn’t seen the real Alec in close to a week. And it was pissing her off almost as much as it hurt.

 

She was surprised by how much she missed his touch. And missing it bothered her to no end, because it forced her to face up to a few rather uncomfortable truths about herself. Like the fact that she’d come to count on him ignoring her constant reprimands about invading her personal space. And the fact that his touch affected her in a way no other man’s ever had.

 

Her mind shied away from the obvious conclusions to be drawn from THAT particular realization.

 

' _What’s his problem anyway? It’s not like it meant anything to him. It was just Alec being Alec. And I DID apologize. So why can’t he stop acting like a kicked puppy dog and go back to the way he used to be?'_  She suppressed a sigh.

 

She couldn’t tell if he was doing it deliberately to punish her, or to make a point, or what. But it was clear he wasn’t going to close the gap between them until she did first.

 

' _Whatever.'_  Max retreated into denial. It had always worked for her in the past. ' _It’s not like I want him to touch me. Because I don’t.'_  She flipped her hair over her shoulder with a defiant toss of her head.

 

The brass bell hanging above the door chimed softly as someone pushed open the door. Both transgenics automatically looked up. Caution had been hammered into them so thoroughly by the drill sergeants at Manticore that vigilance was as natural as breathing.

 

Three solemn-faced young boys walked into the store. They were dressed alike in navy dress pants and blazers, crisp white shirts, and striped ties. A scarlet and gold crest adorned the left breast pocket of their blazers.

 

Alec blinked several times in surprise. ' _Since when do redneck yahoos send their kids to posh private schools?'_  This was the sort of town where junked-up old cars were considered appropriate lawn ornaments. No one here was likely to waste what little hard cash they had on something as frivolous as an education.

 

Max’s heart lodged painfully in her throat. She lurched towards Alec, one hand extended to grab his arm. “ALEC!” she hissed in a voice tinged with shock and something that might have been fear. “The kid in the middle. I know him! He was at the cult school where Logan and I found Ray White!” She shivered, remembering how powerless she felt when he pinned her to the wall just by looking at her. How was she supposed to kick someone’s ass if she couldn’t get near them?

 

Alec instantly shifted position so that his body was between hers and the mini-Familiars. He grabbed a box at random off the shelf and held it up to his face as if reading the label, but his gaze never wavered from the enemy. He watched as the boy Max recognized marched up to the counter, grabbed a pack of gum, and tossed his money down with a condescending arrogance that would’ve made White proud.

 

Max ducked her head out of sight behind Alec’s broad shoulder. Anger replaced the fear in her veins. She’d had enough of the cult and their freakish plots for world domination. Particularly the ones that involved her.

 

She was sorely tempted to snatch the kid from behind and shake him until he solved the mystery of the runes for her. She sighed, knowing she’d just be wasting her time. ' _The little brat probably doesn’t know anything anyway.'_  Brainwashing was much more effective when the puppets don’t know enough about what’s going on to think for themselves.

 

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and breathed in Alec’s scent – a combination of soap, leather, and a musky maleness that was pure Alec. A slight flush stained her cheeks. She gripped the handle of the shopping basket until her knuckles turned white. ' _Focus, Max!'_

 

The trio made their purchases and left the store without speaking a single word. Not once did any of the three glance around the store or take notice of anything but themselves.

 

Alec tossed the box he was holding back on the shelf and swivelled to face Max. “They’re about as observant as Logan.”

 

Max chose to ignore the comment. After all, he did have a point. Logan wasn’t known for his powers of observation. “The cult must’ve relocated the school here after Logan and I blew their cover,” she said thoughtfully.

 

“Go back to the car, Max,” Alec ordered. “Stay outta sight.”

 

Max bristled. Her eyebrows rose nearly to her hairline. She was sooo not taking orders from him.

 

“Before someone spots you and blows OUR cover,” he clarified.

 

“What about you?” she protested. “White wants you dead too, ya know.”

 

Alec shrugged nonchalantly. “Someone’s gotta go be charming,” he said with a jerk of his head in the cashier’s general direction, “and it ain’t your thing.”

 

“I can too be charming!”

 

“Max, you’re about as charming as Mole before his morning coffee. Oh wait, Mole doesn’t drink coffee.” Alec grinned as Max pouted. He leaned forward at the waist as he reached down to take the basket from her hand. His face moved within inches of hers.

 

Max’s eyes locked onto his lips. Those lips that had kissed her with such passion and skill. She was incapable of looking away. Her tongue flicked out and moistened her own suddenly dry lips.

 

Alec hesitated, caught by the strange, almost hungry look in Max’s eyes. She hadn’t relinquished her hold on the shopping basket either. ' _Don’t. Don’t do this to yourself again. Max. Doesn’t. Want. You.'_  he reminded himself roughly. ' _Once was taking a chance. Twice would be masochistic stupidity.'_  He tugged the basket from her grasp and retreated several feet. He forced a smile to his face.

 

Max nodded absently and headed for the door, too confused by her sudden fascination with Alec’s lips to speak. ' _Get your head in the game,'_  she told herself sternly. She hurried for the car with her head ducked down and her face out of sight behind her hair. Everyone on the street was a potential threat. They weren’t safe here. The smart thing to do would be to haul ass out of town as fast as possible. Escape and evade.

 

Now where was the fun in that?

 

Several tense moments passed before Alec emerged from the store. He carelessly tossed their groceries in the back and slid into the driver’s seat.

 

“Well?” Max asked impatiently.

 

“A private school blew into town a couple of months ago. Brought all their own staff with them. Didn’t hire a single local, which has the town pretty pissed off. Nobody knows anything about them. They keep pretty much to themselves. Rumour has it the mayor’s been bought off to keep it quiet so they don’t have to pay taxes.” Alec snorted in derision. Ordinaries would believe almost anything. There was a literal cloak-and-dagger routine going on right under their noses and they thought all the secrecy was about taxes.

 

He smiled as he recalled the last bit of information he got out of the cashier.

 

Max looked at Alec through narrowed eyes. “What’s so funny?” she demanded. She failed to see the humour in their situation. The town was crawling with Familiars. If even one recognized them, they were screwed.

 

Alec’s eyes twinkled merrily. “The building the cult took over used to be the state mental hospital.”

 

Max stared at Alec in disbelief and then burst out laughing. “The cult’s base of operation is a loony bin??!! Oh man, how appropriate.”

 

“No kidding. How can they possibly take themselves seriously, prancing about in their bathrobes in a former nuthouse?” Alec shook his head. “You’d think that’d be too blatant, even for them.”

 

“I doubt a sense of humour is a highly prized trait in a Familiar,” Max replied dryly. She smiled at Alec and then tried to adopt an innocent expression. “Since we’re in the neighbourhood, we should drop by and say hi, don’cha think?”

 

“It’d be rude not to,” Alec agreed. “Since we’re such good friends and all.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Max squirmed uncomfortably, searching for a position, any position, where the knot in the tree trunk at her back didn’t jab her painfully in the ribs. She’d swear the damn thing was growing. Her jacket rustled loudly as it scraped against the bark. She froze, hoping Alec hadn’t heard. Or anyone else for that matter.

 

“Geez, Max. Take a pill,” Alec whispered from his position below her. “We’re trying to go undetected, remember. An entire army of squirrels wouldn’t make as much noise as you.”

 

Max stuck out her tongue at him, irritated by more than just her uncomfortable perch. They’d been up this tree for hours and she hadn’t heard him shift position once. ' _What the fuck?! He can’t stay still when he’s got both feet on the ground, but he can sit up a tree for hours like some goddamn owl? He’s doing it to piss me off. I just know it,'_  she grumbled to herself.

 

“Let’s get this bitch over with already,” she hissed.

 

“What, you fall asleep during B&E 101? Let’s review, shall we? Rule number 1, unless you’re looking to be target practice… wait until everyone’s asleep!”

 

“They ARE asleep. We haven’t seen or heard anything for nearly an hour!” She leaned out at a precarious angle so she could glare at him, her legs gripping the branch tight.

 

He craned his neck to look up at her. His expression was unreadable in the dark. “Not yet,” he said and then turned his attention back to the dark and silent school.

 

Max rolled her eyes impatiently. She tilted her head and looked up at the sky through the dense canopy of leaves. The moon obligingly slipped behind thick cloud cover. ' _Good enough for me.'_  She grabbed the branch with both hands, swung one leg back and over, and dropped. Her body arched through the air and slammed, full force, into Alec.

 

Overbalanced, he tumbled backwards off his seat. Fortunately for him, his cat-like reflexes kicked in just in time. He flipped himself upright as he fell and landed on his feet, although somewhat less gracefully than usual.

 

Max dropped lightly to the ground beside him. “How ‘bout now? Is THIS a good time for you?”

 

He growled low in his throat.

 

Max raised a finger to her lips. “Shh,” she whispered. “Don’t wake ‘em.”

 

Alec tried, rather unsuccessfully, to hide his smile. Heists always brought out Max’s playful side. “Fine. But if we end up snake bait, I’m sooo gonna blame you.”

 

“Whatever. Just move your ass, pretty boy.”

 

Max brushed past Alec and led the way through the trees to the edge of the open lawn. They paused briefly in the shadows for one last look and then blurred towards the administration wing of the school. Max flattened her back against the rough stone wall and kept watch as Alec knelt and picked the lock.

 

He cracked the door open and scanned the interior for security cameras, alarms, motion detectors, or other nasty surprises waiting for the unwary intruder. There weren’t any.

 

' _Arrogant or stupid. Or both. Yeah, definitely both,'_  he decided as they slipped inside. They padded silently down the dark corridors, their senses on full alert. Instead of the usual self-important portraits of past headmasters, the walls were lined with silk banners. On each banner was an inscription in those unintelligible runes the cult was so fond of.

 

' _Kill the freaks, take over the world, go us,'_  Max guessed. ' _Blah blah, woof woof.'_

 

The headmaster’s office was located at the very end of a long hallway. Alec picked the lock on the door, and then re-locked it once they were inside. He preferred not to advertise their presence, just in case there was a diligent sentry on duty tonight. With any luck, they’d be in and out with no one the wiser.

 

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Max hissed when she realized he was locking them in.

 

“Avoiding detection,” he replied, as if it were obvious. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not get shot at tonight.”

 

Tactically it was a smart move, but one that Max rarely bothered with. Her way was to jump in headfirst and damn the consequences. Planning was a lot more work than relying on her wits and reflexes.

 

Taking the time to cover their tracks was something Zack did. Max was surprised to find the same thoroughness in careless, cocky Alec. He never had before on any of the missions they’d gone on together. Of course, it wasn’t like she’d ever given him the opportunity to try the subtle approach. The realization that maybe, just maybe, she’d underestimated him yet again made her grumpy.

 

“And what happens if we gotta get out in a hurry, Einstein?” she demanded, more sharply than she intended.

 

Alec shrugged. “That’s what windows are for.”

 

Max glanced over at the institutional windows and back to Alec. She planted her hands on her hips. “They don’t open.”

 

“Don’t tell me you’ve never gone through glass before.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

 

In fact, Max had once. And she’d spent the next hour picking glass splinters out of her skin. Not fun. “Fine. But you get to go first.”

 

“Well, aren’t you sweet.” He grinned, not perturbed in the least by her threat.

 

Max stuck her tongue out at him and then spun on her heel and headed for the filing cabinets. Alec flopped down in the comfortable leather chair behind the desk and turned on the computer. Neither bothered to turn on a light since they both could see perfectly well in the dim moonlight.

 

“Huh,” he said. “No password required. Then again, who needs a password when everything’s written in ancient Minoan?” He stared intently at the screen and tried to match the odd squiggles with what he remembered of Max’s tattoos.

 

Max abandoned the files. They were obviously just for show. There was nothing there but attendance records and report cards. She sighed. _'It_ _was probably too much to ask for a file labelled "the Apocalypse and what 452 is supposed to do about it".'_

 

She moved behind the desk and joined Alec in staring at the computer. She laid one hand lightly on his shoulder. Alec had to will himself not to tense up under her touch.

 

“That’s one,” she said and pointed at the screen with her other hand. “I think. And um, that one too. Oh what the hell, just copy ‘em all. We don’t have time to play pin-the-translation-on-the-doodle.” Max hadn’t paid too much attention to what her runes looked like. She hadn’t wanted to. They freaked her out too much, the way they appeared and disappeared all on their own, prophesizing doom for the world if she didn’t do something to stop it.

 

Alec pulled a mini disc from his pocket. He leaned forward to pop it in the drive, using the movement as an excuse to slip out from under her hand. If Max noticed, she didn’t give a sign.

 

Alec finished burning the last file when they heard the unmistakeable sound of footsteps headed their way. Max ducked for cover behind the desk, her heart pounding as her adrenaline spiked. Alec grabbed the disc and shut off the computer before crouching next to her.

 

The footsteps paused outside the door. The doorknob rattled as whoever it was checked the lock. Satisfied the room was secure, the sentry retreated the way he came.

 

Max let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She shot Alec a grateful smile. If he hadn’t relocked that door…

 

His jaw clenched. “I’m not always a screw up, Max.” Alec stood abruptly and moved over to the door.

 

Max winced at the hurt in his voice and then shut away the guilt to deal with another day. Alec had the door open already and was waiting for her. They stepped out into the hallway, fists at the ready, eyes and ears straining for any sign of the sentry.

 

The only sound was a soft hissing as one of the cult’s sacred snakes slithered their way. Alec ignored it and bent to lock the door once more. Max stared mesmerized by the way the snake’s eyes glittered dangerously in the dark. Its blunt head weaved back and forth hypnotically, and suddenly Max was unable to look away. It slithered closer.

 

Alec waved his hand impatiently in front of Max’s face. She looked up, startled. “If you two are done bonding, can we go now?”

 

Max shook her head to clear it of the cobwebs and followed Alec down the hall. The snake hissed at her as they passed. She gave it a wide berth. “Ug,” she complained in a whisper. “Do they have to leave those things lying around all over the place? They’re creepy.”

 

“Shh!” Alec said and held his arm out to block her way. Max was about to protest when she heard what Alec had – the sound of footsteps off to their right, and getting closer. There was no time to get to the exit. Max dropped into her fighter’s stance, a grim look on her face. Alec grabbed her by the arm and hauled her forward three feet. He yanked open the door to a broom closet he remembered passing earlier and shoved Max in ahead of him. He eased the door shut with a soft click just as the footsteps rounded the corner.

 

A female voice murmured something unintelligible in a soft, sing-song voice. There was a rustling sound and a hiss.

 

' _Just picked up the snake,'_  Alec guessed.

 

The woman started to retreat down the hall when a gruff male voice called out to her. “Fenes’tol.”

 

“Fenes’tol,” she replied calmly.

 

The male continued to speak in gibberish, his voice growing louder as he approached. She moved a few feet down the hall in his direction, which unfortunately brought her closer to the transgenics’ hiding space. The male voice joined her and they yattered back and forth to each other.

 

' _Fuck,'_  Alec thought. ' _We could be here all night. Max is gonna kill me.'_

 

The closet was tiny, dark, and cramped. Alec held himself as still as possible, knowing that if he moved in the slightest he’d brush up against Max. He could guess what her reaction to that would be. The bruises he could handle.  It’s not like she could hurt him that badly. Physically at least. But he really didn’t need to hear all over again her opinion of him as a person or as 'potential boyfriend material'. Once was bad enough.

 

' _You’d kick it with Normal first over me, wouldn’t you Max? Because I disgust you that much.'_

 

Max stared at Alec’s broad shoulders, remembering how he’d felt beneath her hands. All hard muscles and soft skin. She remembered the feel of his mouth on hers. She raised one shaking hand to her face and touched her lips. They burned with the memory of that kiss. Her blood was pounding in her veins and she couldn’t catch her breath. She felt like she was running a marathon.

 

She wanted him to turn and wrap his strong arms around her. Wanted him to press her against him and kiss her until there were no more thoughts left in her head. She was weak with need.

 

' _Weak. That’s what you are, Max. Weak,'_  she thought angrily. She dug her nails into her palms. ' _Stop it! It’s just physical. Yeah, it’s been a while. So what? You and Alec are NOT like that!'_  She held her breath and then released it in a long, frustrated sigh.

 

Alec stiffened at the sound. He pressed himself close to the door, trying to give her as much space as he could.

 

' _I know Max. Believe me, I know how much you hate being this close to me,'_  he thought bitterly. ' _I’m sorry.'_

 

After what seemed like an eternity for both transgenics, the Familiars moved off down the hall, still taking. Alec opened the closet door almost before they were out of earshot. He didn’t want to impose his presence on Max any longer than absolutely necessary. ' _The fact that she hasn’t hit me yet just for breathing is something of a small miracle.'_

 

He headed for the exit without looking her way. Max followed in silence, too wrapped up in her attempt to master her body’s response to him to notice his detachment.

 

They reached the exit without further incident. They blurred across the lawn to the safety of the trees and vanished into the dark.

 

A pair of dark eyes stared out into the night, startled by the sudden blur of movement.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Max rummaged through the stack of jeans on the display table. Her left foot tapped spastically to the beat of the pre-Pulse rock booming from the speakers throughout the store. She smiled in triumph when she unearthed a pair of black hipsters in her tiny size from the bottom of the pile.

 

' _Perfect,'_  she though happily as she moved towards the rack of shirts. ' _A couple of tops and I’m outta here.'_

 

Life on the run had its perks. Like never having to do laundry for starters. Not to mention spending time with Alec without having to feel guilty about it.

 

' _Yep. Guilt-free time with Alec is a definite perk.'_

 

She sighed. She’d hated having to choose between the men in her life. Whenever she tried to spend “quality” time in Logan’s general vicinity, she’d ended up wishing she was off doing something crazy and fun with Alec instead. But when she did hang with Alec, she wound up feeling selfish and guilty for not being with her “boyfriend”. It sucked. It turned her into a wishy-washy, whiney, pathetic little girl. X5s are NOT supposed to be wishy-washy.

 

Suddenly a high-pitched squeal echoed throughout the store. Max glanced at the back and saw two blonde teenage girls bouncing and giggling in a display worthy of the discovery of fire. One of them held up a sequined blue halter top that looked to Max like something the girls at the Blowfish Tavern would wear. “Ohmigod it’s PERFECT!” she announced to the entire store.

 

“Darren is gonna be sooo jealous!” her friend agreed at equal volume. “He’s like, gonna die when he sees you!” The two girls collapsed together in a fit of giggles.

 

Max rolled her eyes. ' _Pathetic.'_  She would be eternally grateful Manticore pruned all such ditziness from her DNA. It was just so…girly. She failed to see what they were so excited about. ' _It’s just a top. Keeps you warm. Covers up what guys shouldn’t be lookin’ at anyway.'_

 

OC was always ragging on Max about her clothes, but Max just tuned her out since she didn’t have the time, patience, or inclination to care. It’s not like she was a normal girl with normal problems. A new top wasn’t going to fix anything in her crappy life.

 

Max mentally ran through her list of not-so-normal problems. ' _Designed in a petri dish. Raised to think killing people is fun. Heat, 3 times a year. Except not this year, and that can’t be good.'_  Max snorted. She’d never thought not going in to Heat would bother her, but with her luck she’d make up for all her missed cycles at once.

 

' _Where was I? Oh yeah, haven’t seen my family in 11 years, or if I have they’re now dead. Or as good as dead,'_  she corrected, thinking of Zack. ' _If I touch my ex-boyfriend, he dies. I’ll have a lynch mob on my ass if anyone sees my barcode. “Father” thought it’d be fun to use my body to send secret messages, but forgot to give me a decoder ring. I’m supposed to prevent doomsday. How? Who knows. Not me. The cult does, but they’re not telling. They wanna see me dead, preferably before I turn into the Messiah and save the world…somehow. I’m on the run, so that means no friends, no home, no job, and no money. Just Alec, 24/7.'_  She added Alec to the end of her very long list mostly because her day just didn’t seem complete without blaming him for something.

 

' _Fuck, my life is a pathetic mess. So really, who gives a shit what I wear?'_

 

Max grabbed two black tops off the rack in front of her. She hesitated, then shrugged one shoulder and grabbed a lower-cut red one too. ' _It’s got absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Alec said I looked hot in red,'_  she argued with herself. ' _I like the colour, that’s all.'_

 

She plunked her purchases down on the counter. The clerk smiled at her in a vague, polite sort of way and said something that Max tuned out. Her sunny mood vanished as if it never was, and her thoughts became fixated on just how hard her life sucked. All because of the perfect DNA she never asked for and didn’t want.

 

She took the bag and her change from the clerk without really noticing and trudged out of the store with her head down. Her mind was in a whirl. Like a pet hamster in one of those exercise wheels, she kept circling around and around the same three thoughts – the cult, the runes, and her DNA.

 

' _The answers are on that disc,'_  she told herself fiercely. ' _They have to be.'_  The problem was figuring out what the hell it said.

 

There were only two people who could solve that riddle for her, and one was out of touch and the other was off limits. ' _There has to be another way. We’re running out of time.'_  The cult was hardly going to put its whacked agenda on hold and wait for her to get a clue. Her sense of desperation grew as each day ticked by. Something bad was going to happen, and soon. She could feel it in her bones.

 

She was so tired of being out of the loop, tired of feeling like a stranger in her own body. ' _Damn it, I wanna know NOW!'_  She clenched her fists and growled in frustration. No one had ever accused her of being patient.

 

A stranger selling shoes on a rickety card table turned and stared at her with a hard, suspicious look. Nice, normal girls don’t growl. At least, not in public.

 

Max forced the scowl from her face and ducked out of sight behind a tired mother and her four fractious, bickering children. She hurried down the street until she could no longer feel the man’s eyes raking the crowd for her.

 

' _Real smooth, Max,'_  she fumed. ' _Way to keep your head down and not draw attention to yourself.'_  She needed to focus her thoughts on something else, something pleasant. She didn’t have to think very hard to find the perfect distraction. ' _Hell,'_  she snorted, ' _that man could distract a nun.'_

 

Her lips curved into a smile. Manticore had really outdone themselves when they made Alec. Max never thought a man could be beautiful, until she laid eyes on him. ' _And don’t he know it,'_  she thought in fond exasperation, rolling her eyes.

 

She checked the time, wondering if he was even awake yet. When she left earlier that morning, Alec was sprawled across the bed on his stomach. The sheets were tangled around his waist, exposing his bare back to view.

 

Normally shopping was one of Max’s least favourite activities, but the sight of his golden skin and firm muscles made it seem like a very wise idea.

 

' _Yeah,'_  she decided, ' _he’s up and watching TV no doubt. He loooves his boobtube.'_

 

Faintly in the distance she heard the unmistakeable sound of a gunshot. Her head snapped up as her training kicked in, and she instantly assessed her surroundings for threat. No one else on the street reacted, but then again, no one else had her enhanced hearing either.

 

The first shot was followed by two more in rapid succession. Her head swivelled unerringly towards the source of the gunfire. It came from the same direction as their motel. Her heart hammered against her ribs. ' _Shit. Alec!'_

 

Max didn’t stop to think or plan, she just reacted on instinct. She dropped her bag of clothes and broke into a sprint. She raced for the motel, not caring in the least if anyone saw her blur. As she tore around the corner and flew down the street, she used her enhanced vision to scan the parking lot. A black van was parked at an ominous angle in front of their room, as if it had come to a screeching halt outside their door. Her heart lodged in her throat. “Alec…” she whispered.

 

Max swerved through traffic and vaulted over the small patch of grass that separated the motel parking lot from the road. Without breaking stride she bent and snatched up a shovel the motel owner had carelessly left lying out when he finished his gardening. Or dropped in his haste to get away from the fighting. Whatever. Max gripped the wooden handle tightly, grateful to have a weapon, however primitive.

 

She focused her vision on their room as she ran, her brain automatically assessing and cataloguing details. The window was cracked from the inside. Myriad break lines radiated out from the point of impact, most likely caused by a body slamming into the glass. The door had been kicked open and now hung drunkenly on its hinges. It was silent. Too silent for combat. Max grimly forced away the fear that threatened to choke her.

 

A soldier in black body armor lay crumpled in the doorway, a pool of blood forming underneath him. He’d been shot through the heart she noted, before dismissing him from her mind. She leapt over the body and burst into their room like wildfire.

 

Two more bodies littered the floor. One had been shot between the eyes. He stared blankly up at the ceiling, a slightly startled expression on his face. The other lay like a limp rag doll, his head twisted around at an awkward, unnatural angle.

 

Three hostiles dead. Unfortunately, they had two friends on hand to avenge their deaths. One of the two had a broken leg and a gaping bullet hole in his side. Neither injury seemed to bother him very much.

 

' _Familiar,'_  Max surmised. No one else would be standing with their weight on that broken leg.

 

The wounded Familiar had an unholy look of glee on his face as he watched his comrade slowly strangle the life out of Alec.

 

Alec was on his knees. The Familiar stood over him, one arm wrapped around Alec’s throat and the other braced against the back of his neck for leverage. Alec clawed desperately at his attacker’s arm and repeatedly slammed his elbow into the man’s ribs. The Familiar just ignored the pain with an evil laugh and squeezed harder.

 

Even as she watched, horrified, she could see Alec weakening, losing the battle with unconsciousness. Shaking with fury, she turned to the wounded Familiar. Her instincts screamed to go straight for the one trying to kill Alec, but enough of her training remained with her in her rage to know that she couldn’t afford to leave an enemy at her flank. Familiars don’t feel pain. A broken leg wouldn’t keep him out of the fight.

 

She swung the shovel with all her not-inconsiderable strength. It arced through the air, whistling slightly as it came.

 

The Familiar’s eyes widened at the unexpected blur of movement by the door. He turned, his hand half-raised to ward off the blow, but his reflexes were too slow. The shovel slammed into his throat and the sharp edge bit deep, severing his jugular. He fell to his knees, choking on his own bright red blood.

 

Max tossed the unwieldy shovel aside and turned to face the last of their attackers. Her teeth were bared in a savage, predatory smile. The Familiar snarled in wordless rage at the sight of her. His grip on Alec’s throat loosened slightly.

 

With the last of his fading strength, Alec dropped his weight forward and flipped the Familiar over his shoulder. His world faded to grey, and he collapsed to the floor.

 

The Familiar rolled with Alec’s throw and sprang to his feet. Max pounced before he could settle into his combat stance. She landed a flying kick to his side, and heard a rib crack with grim satisfaction.

 

The Familiar didn’t even blink at the pain.

 

They closed, circling around each other in a deadly dance, kicks and punches flying from every direction. Max lashed out at his head with an uppercut. He ducked and kicked her hard in the side of her knee. Her leg nearly buckled, but Max locked away the pain. She punched him in the gut. He grunted and then came after her with both fists. Her head recoiled as a vicious backhand caught her in the mouth and split her lip open.

 

Max danced back a few paces. She flicked her tongue out and tasted her own blood. He sneered at her in disgust. ' _Bastard.'_

 

Max feinted left, slipped under his guard, and slammed her fist as hard as she could into his injured side. Two more ribs cracked. She followed through and aimed for his jaw with her elbow. He grabbed her arm as is glanced off his face and tossed her over his shoulder into the far wall. The plaster cracked from the impact. Max dropped to the floor, slightly stunned.

 

The Familiar charged, eager to finish her off. She gathered herself together and exploded to her feet. Arm outstretched she jabbed her rigid fingers into his windpipe, momentarily winding him. He gasped for breath. Before he could recover she leaped and kicked him in the chest hard enough to send him staggering backwards.

 

Disoriented, he tipped over the body of one of his dead comrades and fell backwards. As he went down his skull smacked against the sharp corner of the table with a sickening thud. He slumped bonelessly to the floor.

 

Max crept forward cautiously, her fists at the ready. Her eyes flickered over the Familiar’s still form. Blood oozed out from under his body to mingle with the stains left by the others. She grinned in feral pleasure at her victory.

 

Behind her the last of their attackers gulped frantically for air with a gurgling, raspy sound and then died. The sudden silence was eerie. Max shook off her battle-fever and rushed to Alec’s side. She gently rolled him onto his back. Her heart hammered in her ears as her fingers fumbled at his throat.

 

She held her breath and sent a desperate, wordless plea to the Blue Lady.

 

Alec’s pulse fluttered against her fingertips. It was faint and feeble, but it was there.

 

Max let out her breath in a rush. Tears stung her eyes. A wave of emotion washed through her – joy, relief, horror, fear, anger. She slid her hand up his neck to cup his face. Her fingers twitched, and she had to fight the irrational impulse to slap him.

 

The sound of a dog barking outside jerked Max out of her reverie. She looked around wildly. Their location was compromised. They had to move out, fall back, go to ground.

 

Her knee ached and her side burned from where she hit the wall but she ignored the pain and hoisted Alec to her shoulder in a fireman’s hold. She carried him as gently as she could to their car, trying not to jar him with every step. She had no idea how badly he was injured, and no time to find out.

 

It was harder than she thought it would be to manouver his limp body into the passenger seat and she was blinking back tears of frustration by the time she was done. He hadn’t stirred, not even when she accidentally banged his knee against the dash.

 

She raced back to their room and haphazardly stuffed their clothes in a bag. She tossed it in the back seat, slammed the car into gear, and peeled out of the motel parking lot in a spray of gravel.

 

She blew through the sector checkpoint on the edge of town, slowing just enough to give the startled cops time to scramble clear of the barricades. Their angry, panicked shouts barely registered with Max. All her attention was focused on outrunning possible pursuit. Her eyes flicked constantly between the road in front of her and her rear-view mirrors. Luckily no one seemed to be following them.

 

She glanced over at Alec. Livid purple and black bruises ringed his neck, and blood dripped from a cut about his eye.

 

“Wake up, Alec. C’mon, open your eyes. Please!” she pleaded. Alec remained stubbornly unconscious. His breathing was rapid and shallow. Max clutched the steering wheel so hard her fingers turned white.

 

' _We need a secure location, somewhere we can hide out for a few days. Think Max!'_

 

Unfortunately, they didn’t have many options. The nearest big city as hours away, and the shanty towns along the highway weren’t the kind of place where strangers could disappear into the crowd and go unnoticed. She pounded the steering wheel in frustration, painfully aware of each passing minute. Alec needed to rest. The cramped seat of their sports car was hardly the best place to recover from almost dying, even for someone with their advanced healing abilities.

 

Max glanced out the window at the lake on their right and saw sunlight glint off something in the trees on the far side. Curious, Max squinted and brought the area into focus. The sun was reflecting off the windows of a log cabin tucked in among the trees. As she watched the sun slid behind a thick bank of clouds and the cabin faded into the shadows. To anyone without her enhanced vision, it would be invisible.

 

Max laughed out loud in relief. It was perfect. White would never expect them to go ground so close to their last known location.

 

Even better, there were no other cars around to see them pull off the highway.

 

Max followed the access road as it curved around the lake. There were other cabins along the shore but she headed further in towards the one that had signalled to her. It seemed like a good omen. Who knew transgenics could be superstitious?

 

She turned off onto the private driveway leading to her chosen hideaway. The cabin was situated in a clearing about 100 feet from the rocky beach. It was a genuine log cabin, built from the tree trunks of the indigenous lodge pole pines. Charmingly rustic in a way only the rich can afford.

 

Max pulled the car around to the far side of the cabin, out of sight of both the road and the lake. She peered intently at the building. It looked as if it hadn’t been occupied for some time. The deck chairs were stacked together and covered by heavy plastic, and a canoe was propped on its side against the cabin wall.

 

Max ran up the porch steps and swiftly picked the lock. The air inside the cabin smelled slightly stuffy, confirming her guess that it had been locked up tight for months. She stepped inside, her eyes quickly adjusting to the dim lighting. A quick search revealed running water but no power. There was a generator out back but Max dismissed it as likely to draw unwanted attention. It’s not like they needed the lights on to see by anyway.

 

Satisfied, Max hurried back to the car and hoisted Alec onto her shoulders. She carried him into the bedroom and laid him gently on the bed, and then returned to the car for their things, including the field med kit. On her way back through the kitchen she grabbed a small bowl and filled it with water. Her hands trembled slightly, sloshing water over the rim. She set the bowl down on the nightstand and then kneeled on the bed next to Alec.

 

Max forced her gaze away from the cruel marks on his neck and carefully assessed the rest of his injuries. The cut above his eye had finally stopped bleeding. The knuckles of his right hand were swollen and bruised, testament to how hard he fought back. She tugged his t-shirt out of his jeans and pushed it up his chest. She gasped when she saw the bruises that mottled his fair skin. Quickly she checked his ribs and heaved a sigh of relief that none were broken.

 

' _X5s heal tissue damage fast,'_  she reminded herself, ' _and at least he didn’t get shot this time.'_

 

Max grabbed a gauze pad from the med kit and dipped it in the water. She gently wiped at the trail of dried blood on his face. Her hands trembled. She bit her lower lip and furrowed her brow as she devoted all her attention to that small task.

 

Alec lay there so pale and quiet, not moving, barely even breathing. Max pinched the inside of his arm, hard. No response, not even a twitch. He was as still as the grave.

 

 _He should have regained consciousness by now_ , the voice of fear whispered in her mind.

 

' _He’ll be fine. He will!'_  she told herself fiercely. But she couldn’t stop her hands from trembling. The tremors spread up her arms to her entire body as the adrenaline left her system. She curled up in a tight ball next to Alec. Tears burned behind her eyelids and slid down her cheeks.

 

Eventually she stopped shaking. She raised herself on one elbow and gazed down at him. Asleep, Alec looked so impossibly young and innocent. Vulnerable.

 

Max smiled wryly. He’d hate if it he knew what she was thinking. Manticore had taught them never to show weakness. If you couldn’t be strong, you faked it. And Alec was a master at the art of faking it, with his pretty smiles and his I’m-always-alright bullshit. Tenderly she brushed his hair from his forehead. Needing to be closer to him, she lifted his arm from his side and draped it around her shoulders and laid her head on his chest so she could hear the beating of his heart. Its steady rhythm soothed her into a light sleep.

 

Alec emerged from unconsciousness to the unfamiliar weight of a warm female body next to his. Not that a warm female body in his bed was unusual, just the fact that this one smelled like Max.

 

He cracked open his eyes and saw hair the colour of melted chocolate draped across his chest. Hair the exact length and shade of Max’s. ' _Huh? But I never sleep with brunettes.'_  Precisely so as to avoid this kind of awkward morning-after confusion. ' _And why the hell does my throat hurt?'_

 

He frowned in concentration, and after a few seconds the memory of the attack slid obligingly into place. He stiffened. If he really was here – wherever this was – and not dead, then the dark-haired girl with her head on his chest was…

 

“Maa-akks?” he croaked, his voice rough and raspy.

 

Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice.

 

She looked pale and tired, and Alec could see faint tear tracks on her cheeks. ' _Tears? But Max never cries.'_  She stared at him in shock for several seconds, fear and concern clearly written on her face.

 

Alec was stunned. He never thought he’d see her look at him like that. Like she actually cared what happened to him.

 

Her eyes lit up when she realized he really was awake. She smiled at him with a dazzling, heartfelt smile of relief and delight. She laid her fingers against his lips. “Shhh. Don’t try to talk. We’re safe. We’re in a cabin by a lake outside of town.”

 

' _Don’t talk? Yeah, right. Who was she kidding?'_  A dozen questions buzzed around his brain, but he settled for the most pressing one. “Fam-ill-yarss?” he asked in a whisper, careful not to strain his throat by speaking too loudly.

 

A shadow darkened her eyes. She dropped her gaze to the bruises on his neck. “They’re dead. All of them,” she stated matter-of-factly. “And if they had any backup we’ve managed to lose them.”

 

Alec nodded, willing to accept her terse explanation for now. Max was obviously upset, but he knew from experience that pushing her into talking when she wasn’t ready led to getting pushed right back. Or punched. And he wanted to preserve her new-found feeling of concern for him just a little longer.

 

Max reached out and brushed the tips of her fingers across his throat, stopping at his pulse-point. She couldn’t stop herself from asking. “Are you alright?”

 

“Always,” he lied with his trademark, cocky grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes.

 

Her breath caught in her throat. She’d come so close to losing him. For the second time that day, Max acted without thinking. She cupped his face in her hands and brushed his lips with hers.

 

Alec froze, too startled to react.

 

Max increased the pressure slightly, her full lips pressed invitingly against his. Alec remained curiously passive and unresponsive. Not exactly the response she was expecting from him.

 

Max pulled back, suddenly unsure of herself. Alec stared up at her with a completely dumbfounded expression on his face. At the back of her mind Max wondered if he’d look any more shocked if she shot him in the ass.

 

Considering how she’d reacted the last time they’d kissed, shock was probably a natural response. Hell, she’d even shocked herself. But Max wasn’t the sort of girl to back down from a challenge. Her lips curved into a naughty smile. He just needed a little more convincing.

 

She bent her head and captured his lips once more. “Kiss me, Alec,” she murmured against his mouth. She sucked on his bottom lip, her teeth lightly grazing the tender skin. She heard his sharp intake of breath and tugged on his lip again.

 

Alec kissed her back chastely, just a gentle movement of his lips under hers. She wriggled impatiently against him, her soft breasts brushing his chest. He felt his lower body tighten in response.

 

Max ran the tip of her tongue along the velvety underside of his lip. “Please Alec,” she whispered, “I need you.”

 

He groaned, unable to resist after waiting so long to hear her say those words. He opened his mouth and her tongue dived in to taste him. She kissed him hungrily, desperate to reassure herself that he was real.

 

He tangled one hand in her hair, holding her mouth hard against his, while his other hand slid down her back to her ass. She melted into his touch with a soft moan, her lips pliant and eager. Emboldened, he deepened the kiss, his tongue snaking into her mouth to play with her tongue. She tasted so sweet. He could lose himself in the taste of her. His arms tightened compulsively around her. He poured all of his passion into that kiss, determined to make her forget everything but his touch.

 

Max clung to him as if afraid he’d disappear if she let go. Her head spun dizzily and her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears she was sure he must be able to hear it too. Rational thought was beyond her. This felt more right than anything in her life had for years. The sensuous touch of his lips and tongue stole her breath away. He was devouring her and she never wanted it to end.

 

Alec tilted her head to give him better access. His kissed her fiercely, his tongue ruthlessly plundering her mouth. Max wriggled against him. Their tongues wrestled and fought, vying for dominance.

 

Abruptly his lips left hers. She mewled in protest, feeling bereft. He turned his attention to her neck, nibbling and sucking at her delicate skin. He licked the sensitive spot behind her earlobe, sending shivers racing down her spine to her center. She was boneless with desire. It burned deep inside her and sent coils of heat throughout her body. Her nipples hardened, straining against the fabric of her bra.

 

She flung her leg over his body and shifted her weight so that she was lying on top of him. The bulge of his erection was hard against her hip. She rubbed against it playfully. He growled, a deep rumbling in his chest that made her pulse race. Deliberately she wriggled her hips again. His hand tightened on her ass, holding her flat against him. He claimed her lips and kissed her possessively, his mouth and teeth crashing against hers.

 

Max broke the kiss and sat up, her legs straddling him. Her hands dropped to the hem of her shirt and she pulled it over her head in one swift movement, exposing herself to his heated gaze. He watched with eyes that were almost black with desire as she unclasped her bra and tossed it to the floor next to her shirt.

 

He drank in the sight of her. She was more perfect than he’d imagined. Her pert nipples were dusky against the caramel of her skin. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered huskily. His hands reached out to cup her breasts and he marvelled at the silky softness of her skin.

 

His palms brushed against her hard peaks and sent a jolt of pleasure through her body. She whimpered softly. He sat up and pressed his face against her bare skin, inhaling her scent. He could hear the rapid beating of her heart.

 

He tilted his head and nipped the inside of her breast, marking the delicate skin. She gasped in surprise at the slight pain and fisted her hands in his hair. He licked at the bite mark, soothing away the hurt.

 

His fingers fondled the soft flesh of one breast, gently rolling and pinching the nipple between his thumb and index finger. She shivered at his touch. His lips travelled over the swell of her other breast, slowly nibbling and licking his way towards the peak. Finally his tongue flicked out and caressed the tight bud, teasing her. She moaned and arched her back, her breasts thrusting upwards against his mouth. He hid his smile against her velvety skin and tugged lightly on the hard peak before enveloped it in his warm mouth and sucking. His tongue swirled over and around the bud. She purred in pleasure at the sensations he provoked so skilfully. He switched his attention to her other breast, licking and sucking one hardened nipple while his fingers teased at the other. She shuddered in delight and murmured his name.

 

Dropping his weight backwards, Alec rolled them over so that she was pinned beneath him, one hand cushioning the back of her head as it hit the mattress. He cupped her cheek with his hand and stared hungrily down at her as if memorizing every detail. Her face was flushed with desire and her lips were swollen from his kisses.

 

The intensity of his gaze was almost unbearable. Max felt liquid heat pooling between her legs. She bit at the fleshy pad of his thumb as it brushed gently over her lips. Her dark eyes flashed and she tugged impatiently at his shirt. He yanked it over his head and tossed it carelessly to the floor. Her hands roamed eagerly over the contours of his pecs and abs, marvelling at the hard muscles beneath his warm, golden skin. She toyed with the dark blond hairs that started at his navel and disappeared into his jeans.

 

She fumbled at his belt, but he gently caught her by the wrists and moved her hands away. He slid his fingers down her arms and across her ribcage to her lower abdomen. Dropping his head he dipped his tongue into her bellybutton.

 

He undid her jeans, exposing her black lace thong to view. He inhaled sharply, and she smiled in feminine pride at his reaction. She raised her hips off the bed and he eased her jeans past her slender hips and down her legs. Sliding his hands back up her legs he hooked his index fingers under the waistband of her underwear. He paused and then glanced up at her for permission. Her eyes darkened and she nodded. He slowly pulled her underwear down her legs and tossed it to the floor to join the rest of their discarded clothing.

 

He licked and kissed his way slowly up the inside of her leg from her ankle to the top of her thigh, and nipped at the juncture where her leg joined her hip. He tilted his head and nuzzled her damp, crisp curls, his warm breath washing over her and tickling the sensitive skin. The scent of her arousal invaded his senses and made his head swim. It was intoxicating. He gently pushed her legs wider apart and stared at her dark pink folds. She was flushed and glistening with desire for him.

 

He flicked his tongue out and tasted her, exploring her folds. She whimpered and clutched at the sheets as the tip of his tongue found her bundle of nerves. He lapped at her, his tongue swirling over and around. Wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her.

 

He slid one finger into her warm, wet passage. Her inner muscles clamped down around him. She was so tight. He slid a second and then a third finger inside her, gently stretching her. He moved his fingers inside her, stroking her, pushing her higher and higher as his tongue teased at her. Her breathing became ragged, small moans escaping her lips with every stroke of his fingers.

 

He hooked his fingers and found the spongy spot behind her pelvis. Her hips bucked wildly against his hand. “Oh god Alec, don’t stop,” she moaned. Her muscles started to flutter as her climax built, and he increased the tempo, pushing her further and further toward the abyss. He growled low in his throat and the vibrations thrummed against her sensitive nerves. She writhed against him and his free hand gripped her hips tightly, holding them steady. Her entire body shuddered, her legs quaking and her breath coming out in harsh pants. He felt her walls spasm and clench around his finger and she screamed out her pleasure. He continued to stroke her until he felt her trembling subside.

 

He looked up from between her thighs and met her flushed gaze. “Alec,” she whispered with a seductive smile, and pointed at his jeans. “Off, now!” she ordered. His lips twitched in a smile at her impatience but he stood and quickly shed his jeans and boxers. Her eyes went wide at the sight of him and she bit her lip. He was glorious, all lean and sculpted muscle and golden skin.

  
She reached for him with eager hands and pulled him down on top of her. His lips claimed hers and the taste of her on his tongue fanned her desire. She clutched at his shoulders and then scraped her nails down his back to his ass. The tip of his erection grazed against the opening of her passage as she ground his hips against hers. He groaned against her lips. He shifted his weight and slowly sank into her, filling her completely. He pulled back and then thrust into her again, burying his full length in her.

 

Alec propped himself up on his elbows and gazed possessively at her. Her head was flung back against the bed, her eyes shut tight. He jerked his hips, and she whimpered and clung to his back like it was the only thing keeping her from flying to pieces. He growled at the look of pleasure and abandon on her face. “Say my name,” he commanded as he thrust hard into her. “Say it!”

 

“Alec,” she whispered as she opened her eyes to stare up into his stormy hazel ones. “Alec,” she repeated with a predatory smile on her lips. She bared her teeth and then bit his neck hard enough to draw blood. She licked at the wound, purring in animal pleasure at the warm, coppery taste. He growled deep in his throat and then dropped his head to the crook of her neck and bit her there, marking her as his mate the same way she’d marked him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him even further into her.

 

He hooked one hand behind her knee and pushed it back against her chest, allowing him to thrust even deeper into her. He pulled back almost completely and then plunged into her again, over and over in long, hard strokes. She whimpered and rocked her hips beneath his, countering his strokes.

 

He groaned, her small whimpers and moans driving him wild, and he increased the pace, his hips slamming into her faster and faster. Each powerful thrust sent them both spiralling higher and higher. She clung to his back, her nails digging into his skin as he rode her mercilessly. His mouth crushed hers, bruising her soft lips.

 

He felt the pressure build, felt the walls of her passage start to flutter around him. He slid his hand between their bodies to their joining, his thumb massaging her bundle of nerves. She arched her back and shuddered, her inner muscles clenching tight around him, milking him. She screamed his name as she let go and fell over the edge. He felt himself losing control and he pounded frantically into her. His hips jerked hard and he erupted inside her with her name on his lips.

 

He collapsed on top of her, his weight pinning her to the bed as he waited for the world to come back in to focus. He reluctantly pulled out of her and then rolled them onto their sides and tucked her head under chin. She snuggled into his embrace, her head buried in his chest.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Alec was jarred awake by the loud, hungry rumbling of his stomach. He groaned and buried his face in the pillow. Then his lips quirked into a satisfied smile as he recalled why he hadn’t had a chance to eat all day. He’d made love to Max, WITH Max, all afternoon. Neither had been willing to leave the bed long enough to go in search of something as paltry as food. They had finally fallen into an exhausted slumber sometime after sundown.

 

Alec snaked one arm out to pull her close, missing her touch and the feel of her in his arms. Strange how something could feel so right and natural after such a short time.

 

His questing hand came up empty. His eyes snapped open. No Max. Alec was alone in the bed, and the sheets on her side were cold to the touch. He listened intently for the slightest sound to indicate her whereabouts, but he was alone in the cabin too. She was gone.

 

Alec sat bolt upright, his eyes scanning the dimly lit room. He spotted her bag on the floor in the corner, her clothes spilling out of the open top, and his heart returned to a normal pace. She wasn’t gone, she just wasn’t here in bed with him. But he could guess where she was and what she was doing. This was Max after all. She probably climbed the highest tree she could find as a makeshift High Place and was busy castigating herself for betraying Logan. And not just once, but over and over in so many sinfully satisfying ways.

 

Alec sighed and rolled over onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling and cursed himself for a fool in a dozen languages. He should have known better than to expect Max to be there when he woke up. Max didn’t deal with her problems, she ran from them and expected other people to deal with them for her. And in her eyes, having hot monkey sex with Alec constituted a problem of gigantic proportions.

 

Alec had no idea what he was supposed to do now. He couldn’t fix this with a smile and an “oops, my bad”. Charm didn’t work on Max. At least, not his. Logan’s stilted, uptight, repressed-WASP version seemed to work just fine. Not that Logan ever needed to charm his way out of this particular quandary, since he was too uptight and repressed to actually make a move on Max.

 

Of course, in this case it was MAX who made a move on HIM. Alec shook his head in disbelief. He still didn’t know how to process that fact. She’d looked at him with such longing in her eyes and then beseeched him to make love to her. Really, how was he supposed to resist that? Though in hindsight, that might have been a good idea.

 

Max wasn’t in Heat, she wasn’t drunk, and as far as he knew Mia was still hundreds of miles away in Hawaii. In the absence of any mitigating circumstances, Alec was certain to get the blame for this. Hell, Alec would probably get the blame even if Mia had convinced a drunken, Heat-driven Max to sleep with him. Because when it came to Max, one way or another, it was always Alec’s fault.

 

But to be fair, he did it to himself. He put himself in the impossible position of wanting the one woman he couldn’t have. Even though he knew better. So when things went wrong, as it inevitably must given the pattern of his life, who else was there to blame?

 

' _I always go for the ones I can’t have.'_  Alec laughed, a harsh, grating sound with no humour in it. ' _They should put that on my tombstone. Because god knows "I’m always alright" is a crock of shit. I’m not alright. I’m not even close. I’m so un-alright with this it’s almost funny.'_

 

He prided himself on being the guy who was always up for anything. But he wasn’t up for this. He wasn’t up for being Max’s boy toy, someone she could use to forget her crappy life and then toss aside. And he most definitely wasn’t up for being the substitute. Once, in the early days of their friendship, he would have settled for that, content to have her body if not her heart. But not anymore. Not since they got so close over the last few months. He wanted more from her than that.

 

But Max didn’t. She was in love with Logan. Still, always, and forever. She didn’t want anything from Alec, with the possible exception of selective amnesia. And expecting anything more from her than an ass-kicking was just asking for heart-break. She’d probably kick his ass for this even if he did develop amnesia. He grit his teeth against a surge of anger.

 

Physical pain he could handle. It wasn’t as if she ever really hurt him that badly. Well, except for the nasty end to their cage fight. That had hurt like a sonofabitch, and Max still hadn’t apologized to him for that. But it was the emotional wounds he dreaded. Max’s words had a way of creeping under his skin and tormenting him when he let his guard down. ' _Psy_ _Ops wouldaloved her,'_  he thought mirthlessly.

 

With a heavy sigh he rolled out of bed and headed for the shower. Max wouldn’t stay away forever and he preferred to be dressed when the assault began. There was no hot water, which reminded him uncomfortably of Manticore. He showered quickly and was in and out in less than three minutes.

 

He padded naked back to the bedroom and pulled on a pair of boxers and jeans. He was rummaging in his bag for a turtleneck when he heard her footsteps on the porch outside. With a grin, Alec tossed the sweater down on the bed. ' _Two can play dirty.'_

 

Max hesitated outside the door, her hand hovering over the doorknob. She was caught between warring emotions, and sitting beside the lake for half the night hadn’t given her the perspective she so desperately needed. ' _Not high enough up.'_  She sighed. She had no idea what to do or say to him.

 

Alec was the only thing in her life that made any sense anymore, which in its own way made no sense whatsoever, given everything they had been through together. He was her best friend, in some ways even more so than Original Cindy. Max knew her boo loved her like a sister and always had her back no matter what craziness followed her home, but there were some things OC just wasn’t equipped to understand. She hadn’t experienced the particular brand of hell that was Max’s childhood. For some things, there are no words.

 

Alec knew all about the monsters under Max’s bed, because they were his too.

 

She was terrified of losing that connection, that feeling deeper than thought that said he knew her from the inside out and accepted her. Not in spite of or because of what she was, but for who she was. It was the most precious gift in her life, and she was terrified of losing it. Hell, she was terrified of losing him, period.

 

Fate had a nasty habit of messing up her life. She lost everyone she ever cared for, one way or another, and she simply could not lose him too. It was irrational, but part of her thought if nothing changed between them, if they never admitted, not even to themselves, what they might really feel then she could fool Fate into overlooking how important he was to her and just leave him alone.

 

In the shadows of that fear was another, that nothing could screw it up or ruin it because to him it was nothing, meant nothing.

 

She had no idea how he really felt about her. He had the hots for her, obviously. Rationally she knew he cared, at least a little, or he wouldn’t put up with the kind of punishment she dolled out on a daily basis. He wouldn’t be there for her every time her world fell apart. But love? No. Alec didn’t love her. He loved Rachel.

 

How could she compete with a ghost?

 

And even if he wasn’t still IN love with Rachel, even if it was possible for him to love again, what were the chances he would love someone like her? Slim to none. Max had none of the innocence, the gentleness that he had loved in Rachel. Which left her, at best, in the awkward space between best friend and love-of-his-life.

 

Despite how many crazy risks she’d taken in her life, Max wasn’t big on gambling. She was afraid to take a chance in case she lost what she already had in the act of reaching for something more. No, she was better off sticking with what she had. Just chalk it up to hormones or fear or the alignment of the planets, and go back to being friends. It was safer that way. Not to mention far less chance of being humiliatingly rejected.

 

The problem was, best friends generally don’t have sex with each other. And it was true what they said – sex changes everything. Particularly mind-blowing, curl-your-hair, so-good-it’ll-make-you-go-blind sex. Max went weak at the knees just remembering the things he’d done to her, the way he felt in her and on her and over her. She blushed, remembering how many times she screamed his name aloud. She never did that, not even during her Heat. Alec was good, better than good, so good there wasn’t a word to describe how good he was.

 

 _Well he should be,_  her inner cynic said spitefully,  _he’s had enough practice._

 

Max balled her hands into fists. She knew it shouldn’t matter. Two consenting adults and all that. But it did matter. She would NOT settle for being just another pitstop in his sexual roadtrip through life. But why should she be any different than the countless other girls he’d taken to his bed? What was so special about her? Max’s lips twitched into a bitter smile. Nothing. She was no Rachel, and she never could be. It wasn’t in her nature.

 

She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. ' _It was just an itch. We’ve scratched it, and that’s the end of it.'_  Max pushed away the urge to go on scratching at that particular itch until she was too sore to move. Which, for a transgenic, would take a very long time.

 

Max opened the door and marched through the cabin and into the bedroom with her head high and her face blank. Alec was awake and waiting for her, barefoot and shirtless, his hair still damp from his shower. Her gaze roamed hungrily over his bare skin. The bruises on his sides had already faded to mere shadows and the marks around his neck had turned from a livid purple to a ghastly greenish-brown. The benefits of being transgenic. Max swallowed hard. He was so beautiful and so alive. The urge to trace her fingers along his chiselled muscles was so strong she had to cross her arms over her chest to keep from reaching out.

 

Pain stabbed through Alec at the cold, closed-off look on Max’s face. Her body was stiff with tension, her arms crossed, as if she could barely stand to be in the same room as him. He hardened himself not to let his hurt show. He flashed her a cheerful, meaningless smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

 

Her heart sank at the indifferent look in his eyes. Anger and disappointment surged through her, mixed with shame. Max wanted it to mean something to him so that maybe she could figure out what it meant to her. But clearly, it meant nothing to him. SHE meant nothing. She stared at a blank spot on the wall, unable to look at him or the rumpled bed.

 

“All clear,” she said by way of explaining her absence. Alec just nodded. He didn’t expect the cult to be lying in wait outside. That wasn’t their style. Although he had to admit an attack would be a welcome distraction right about now.

 

“I’m going to take a shower,” Max said tonelessly. Her worst fears were coming to pass. She was losing him. Tears pricked behind her eyes but she refused to let them fall in front of him. She turned away and shut herself in the on-suite bathroom.

 

Alec glared at the bathroom door. ' _Yep. It was just sex to her,'_  he thought bitterly.

 

 _Yeah. Because that’s what Max does_ , the voice inside his head said sarcastically.  _She solves her problems by having sex._

 

Alec ignored the voice. It didn’t matter why she did it, when she so obviously regretted doing it. He flung himself down on the bed with a bitter sigh. He pillowed his head on his bare arms and stared blankly up at the ceiling. Two seconds later he heard Max call his name in a strangled voice. He leapt to his feet and blurred across the room in a single motion, and flung open the bathroom door. His eyes flicked around the small room, assessing possible threats. Seeing none, he turned his gaze to Max.

 

She stared at him, disbelief and dismay etched onto her features. She had stripped down to her bra, exposing a rune above her heart. It was stark and ominous against her pale skin.

 

Instinctively Alec held out his arms and Max stepped into his embrace and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Alec gently stroked her hair and murmured soft, meaningless words of comfort in her ear. Max squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to stop trembling, but her body refused to obey. Fear, anger, and confusion churned through her veins and set her nerves on edge. Too restless to stand still, she pulled away from Alec, not noticing the hurt that flashed across his eyes.

 

Alec flinched as she moved further away from him. Two days ago she would have turned to him for comfort. But now? Now she couldn’t bear his touch. Knowing this was the reaction he was likely to get didn’t make it hurt any less. He slammed his mask into place. He refused to let her see how much that hurt. She already had too much power over him. He forced his muscles to relax, striving to maintain the illusion of a carefree, untroubled heart.

 

Max paced the length of the room, her hands clenching and unclenching into fists. The runes frightened her. It was ridiculous, the idea that a genetically-engineered killer could be frightened by a few squiggles on her skin, but she was. She hated being a helpless pawn in Sandeman’s game plan.

 

“What does it mean?” she whispered. “What am I supposed to do?”

 

She sounded so lost and broken, Alec had to fight the urge to go to her and take her in his arms again. Physical comfort clearly wasn’t welcome, so he offered a solution instead. “We’ll find Dix. He can trans-”

 

Max cut him off. “No. We don’t even know where he is, and I can’t wait.” Desperate for an answer she latched onto the only other solution that came to mind. She whirled to face him. “We’re going back to Seattle.”

 

Anger flashed through him. “It’s too dangerous,” he growled, his jaw clenched.

 

Max stared him down, an angry and defiant look in her eyes. “I don’t care. I want to see Logan.” Every fibre of her being was tense with the need to solve this riddle and solve it now. She didn’t care how.

 

Pain ripped through Alec at her blunt words. She was retreating from him, running back to Logan for comfort the way she always did. He was right here, but that wasn’t good enough for her. HE wasn’t good enough for her. She wanted Logan, and what Max wanted, Max got.

 

Max snatched her discarded top off the bathroom floor and jammed it over her head, and then returned to the bedroom for her bag. Alec watched, rooted to the floor, as she haphazardly stuffed her things back in her bag. She was so impatient to get back to Logan, her hands were trembling in her eagerness.

 

Max concentrated all her attention on the task in front of her, trying to block out her fear. Her hands were shaking so badly they were stiff and clumsy, and she dropped a top in her haste. With a muttered oath she knelt to pick it up. She craned her neck to look over her shoulder at Alec. He was standing there, still half-naked, and watching her do all the packing with the oddest expression on his face. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, annoyed that he wasn’t cooperating. She didn’t have time to figure out what his problem was. “Don’t just stand there, pretty boy,” she barked, “get dressed! Move your ass!”

 

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and flounced out of the room. Alec heard her rummaging in the kitchen cupboards for supplies.

 

Unable to help himself, he moved to comply with her demand. He yanked his turtleneck on and shoved his feet into sock and boots. Anger roiled through him at his own weakness. Even with the way things were – or rather, weren’t – between them, it was beyond his power to say no to her. He was a highly trained, disciplined soldier and he couldn’t say no to a girl half his size. It was laughable, really.

 

Swiftly Alec made the bed and tidied the bathroom, concealing all evidence of their presence. He surveyed the room with professional eyes, making certain everything was left the way they found it. Satisfied, he shrugged into his leather jacket and grabbed his bag and headed towards the open front door. He paused on the threshold.

 

He didn’t have to do this to himself. He could walk away, disappear into the trees and start life over somewhere else, somewhere without Max. Or he could get in the car and fade into the background of her life again. Stay or go. His choice.

 

Yeah, right. He could leave, if he weren’t so damn weak when it came to her. She was his addiction. Alec sighed, knowing his decision was made for him the second Max opened her mouth and told him where she was headed. But that didn’t mean he had to like it. He locked the door behind him and stomped over to the car.

 

 

~*~

 

 

It was a mistake. A colossal, unbelievable, disastrous mistake. Possibly one of the worst decisions of her life, and that was saying a lot considering her tendency to act rashly. This had the power to change everything. And Max didn’t even realize what she had done until she walked through Joshua’s front door.

 

Logan had transformed the dining room into an office. The heavy oak table had been pushed against the wall to make room for the computer equipment that now occupied most of the floor space. A video camera was set up in one corner, ready to broadcast Eyes Only to the huddled masses. Files littered every available surface. Logan and Asha were obviously in the middle of planning a joint mission for EO and the S1W. Asha’s left hand rested casually on Logan’s collar as she peered over his shoulder at the monitor. She said something in a low voice that Max didn’t catch over the sound of her heart thumping in her ears. Logan tilted his head towards the blonde and smiled congenially.

 

Max stumbled, her boots skidding clumsily across the floor. Startled, two pairs of blue eyes swung towards the door and widened in shock. Asha jumped back a foot and snatched her hand way from Logan guiltily. She flushed with anger, unable to conceal her jealous resentment at the intrusion. Logan stared at the two transgenics in astonishment, his open mouth caught halfway between a smile and a grimace. Relief, pleasure, annoyance, jealousy, and anger flittered across his eyes.

 

Max felt like she had collided with a brick wall. The enormity of her decision to return to Seattle, to Logan, finally hit her. ' _What was I thinking? Yesterday I was fucking Alec’s brains out and today I’m standing in my ex-non-boyfriend’s living room, about to ask him to solve the mystery of my freakish DNA. What the hell is wrong with me?'_

 

She stared blankly at the man who once meant everything to her. She felt none of the things she probably should after being reunited with the supposed love of her life. No weak knees, no pounding heart, and no caged butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She wasn’t even jealous at the obvious closeness between him and Asha. Whatever passion she once felt for Logan Cale had long since faded into affection. Safe. Tame. Something comforting and familiar in an insane world, like flannel pj’s on a frosty winter’s night. He had ceased to be the centre of her universe so gradually she hadn’t even noticed. But how was she supposed to tell him that when she needed his help to save the world?

 

Her hands were icy cold and she thought she might be sick. Dread settled like a lump in the pit of her stomach. If she was capable of movement, Max would have bolted out the door. She felt Alec move up to stand behind her and she leaned back imperceptibly, drawing strength from his nearness.

 

Alec didn’t need to see her face to know that Max was wearing her blank, unemotional mask again. The one he’d made it his personal mission to banish permanently. He hadn’t seen it in weeks, but five seconds in Logan’s presence and it was firmly in place. It was infuriating the way the older man could leech the vitality out of her with a simple look. And ample evidence of why Max didn’t belong with him, as far as Alec was concerned.

 

Logan narrowed his eyes at the possessive way Alec loomed over Max. His jaw clenched. ' _Must he flaunt the fact that he stole Max from me?'_

 

“Why are you here, Max?” Logan asked, more harshly than he intended. “You know it’s not safe. White is still out there looking for you.” He looked pointedly at Alec, certain the younger man was to blame.

 

Max cringed inwardly at the anger in Logan’s voice, but steeled herself not to let it show. She racked her brains for an explanation that wouldn’t mislead him or alienate him entirely. Flustered by his impatient stare, she blurted out the truth. “The runes are back.”

 

It wasn’t the most diplomatic beginning, but at least it got the point across. She shrugged, trying to look casual, and tugged on the neck of her shirt, partially exposing the rune over her heart.

 

Logan felt a flash of anger at her coldness. No happy smile, no warmth in her eyes, no “I’m so glad to see you, Logan” or “I’ve missed you so much, Logan”. Just a blunt admission that she only came back to him for his help.

 

“So?” was on the tip of his tongue but then he hesitated, suddenly conscious of Asha’s eyes on him. White wasn’t just after the transgenics. If the cult had its way many innocent, ordinary people would suffer too. What would it matter if he stopped a few corrupt cops from extorting money from a downtrodden populace if he did nothing to save them from doomsday? Eyes Only couldn’t sit idly by while the world went to hell, just because his feelings were hurt.

 

And Max knew that. ' _Eyes Only to the rescue,'_  he thought bitterly. ' _And I suppose I should be grateful she lets me do that much for her.'_

 

He glared at her, wanting her to feel his hurt and anger. Her eyes slid away from his and she shifted her weight awkwardly from foot to foot. Logan sighed, his anger already fading. Max was here and she needed him. As if he could actually refuse her.

 

“Any more?” he asked in a defeated voice.

 

“Not on her,” Alec replied, before Max could. He pulled the disc from his jacket pocket and tossed it to Logan with a bland smile.

 

Logan glared suspiciously at Alec, his mind latching onto the possible implications of that remark. ' _Max isn’t like that,'_ he hastened to remind himself. ' _She doesn’t rush into having sex._   _Alec just wants me to think he’s seen her naked. Bastard.'_  Logan’s stomach churned at the thought of Alec’s bloodstained hands on Max’s perfect body, touching what he had no right to. Logan took a deep, calming breath and forced the image aside.

 

' _It’s only been a couple of months.'_  Though it seemed like a lifetime since she left him on his deathbed to go be with that pretty boy. Logan gritted his teeth against the pain of her betrayal. ' _There’s no way she’s slept with him already. Not after only a few months.'_  He ignored the niggling doubt at the back of his mind that said he had no idea how long the two transgenics had been sneaking around behind his back. The one that said for all he knew, they really had been ‘breeding partners’ back at Manticore.

 

' _No! Max isn’t like that,'_  he told himself firmly. He deliberately turned his back on the pair and popped the disc into the computer. He refused to let the cocky X5 bait him. Logan would be the bigger man and take the high road, and sooner or later Max would tire of Alec’s attitude and his immature bullshit and leave him. ' _Because the virus is the only reason she’s with him.'_

 

Asha glanced back and forth between Logan and the transgenics in disbelief. Annoyed by how easily Logan capitulated, she finally broke her long-standing vow never to interfere in the drama of Max and Logan’s on-again, off-again relationship. She focused her anger on Max’s callous disregard of Logan’s feelings, deliberately ignoring her own personal reasons for wanting that relationship to stay in ‘off’ mode.

 

“Max, can I talk to you for a minute?” Asha asked in a sugary sweet tone. “Girl stuff,” she explained to the two men with a bright smile. Before Max could refuse Asha took her by the arm and pulled her towards the kitchen. Surprised to be manhandled by sweet, compliant Asha of all people, Max let herself be dragged away.

 

Logan nodded absently without looking up from the monitor. Alec shoved his hands deep in his pockets and slouched against the wall, apparently at his ease, but he strained to overhear the girls’ conversation. He wasn’t fooled by Asha’s cheerful demeanour. Her entire body was tense and her eyes had glittered angrily.

 

As soon as they were in the kitchen, Asha dropped Max’s arm as if burned. She spun to face Max, her smile gone and her face tight and angry. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she hissed. “Did you even think about him before you came back? Do you even care what you’ve put him through? He hardly eats, he never sleeps, he’s been so worried something happened to you. You never called, not even once to tell him you’re ok. And now you just waltz back into his life as if nothing’s changed. You can’t keep doing this to him! You can’t keep popping in and out of his life like a goddamned yo-yo!”

 

' _Fuck,'_  Alec swore to himself. ' _Asha’s not pulling any punches.'_  Neither girl wanted Logan to hear this or they wouldn’t be in the kitchen right now. But even Logan couldn’t miss two women having a catfight over him less than ten feet away. As a diversionary tactic, Alec started telling Logan the long version of how he and Max acquired the disc, hoping the sound of his chatter would drown out the girls’ voices.

 

Logan grit his teeth and tried to ignore Alec’s cheerful voice. The last thing he wanted to hear right now was Alec recounting his adventures with Max. ' _What are the chances I could talk Asha into putting Alec up at one of the S1W’s safehouses?'_  Logan sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. It was a toss up as to who that plan would piss off more. Although Asha might not mind too terribly; she seemed to have a soft spot for Alec, though Logan was at a loss to understand why.

 

Max gaped at Asha, momentarily robbed of speech by the vehemence of her tirade. Asha always seemed so placid and even-tempered; Max hadn’t thought she was even capable of that kind of anger. She certainly never expected it to be directed her way. Max balled her fists. Too many of Asha’s barbs had struck home to let it pass. She didn’t need the blonde to tell her what a mistake this was. Her own conscience was doing a bang-up job of that all by itself.

 

“You think I want to do this to him? Do you honestly think I woulda come back here if I had ANYWHERE else to go? Whatever White’s up to, it’s bad. Very, very bad. And it’s not just about transgenics. If we can’t stop the cult, a lot of Ordinaries are gonna die too!”

 

Asha crossed her arms over her chest and matched Max’s angry stare with one of her own. She refused to back down before the X5. “Fine. But what happens AFTER you’re done saving the world?” She laughed bitterly. “You’re gonna leave him, because that’s what you do. You’re gonna walk away with soldier boy and leave me to pick up the pieces.” 

 

“Somehow I don’t think you’ll mind,” Max said waspishly. ' _Hypocrite. Like she’s not itching for me to leave so she can have Logan all to herself again.'_  Asha was right, but that didn’t mean Max had to listen to her pretend she had no stake in this. Max pantomimed hugging someone and patting them on the back. In a fake, cloying tone of voice she said, “There, there, Logan. It’s alright. That nasty Max is gone. Let Asha kiss you and make it better.”

 

“Well someone has to look out for him!” Asha retorted, stung by the accuracy of Max’s taunt.

 

“You think I don’t know that? What do you want me to do? Stay here with him and watch him die when we accidentally touch? There’s no guarantee a transfusion will work a second time. If I stay, sooner or later, he’ll die.” Angry tears filled Max’s eyes. “He’ll die,” she repeated in a strangled whisper. ' _Because I’m poison.'_  If she ever forgot she was a biohazard, even for the smallest second, Logan would be just a memory. Another ghost to haunt her dreams.

 

Asha felt her anger fade away in the face of the other woman’s obvious distress. “Max…”

 

“Spare me your pity,” Max spat out. She spun on her heel and stormed out of the room in a huff.

 

Alec trailed off mid-sentence and turned to face the kitchen door. He kept his hands in his pockets, knowing better than to try and comfort Max again. He learned his lesson at the cabin. He wiped his face blank; Max would kick his ass if she knew he had eavesdropped.

 

Max stomped into the office, hurt and anger evident in every line of her body. She snatched the digital camera off Logan’s desk. “Candid camera time,” she tossed over her shoulder as she headed for the solitude of the bathroom.

 

Logan felt a flash of disappointment that she wasn’t going to let him examine the rune for himself. He shrugged it off and turned back to the computer, Max already forgotten as he got caught up in the translation process.

 

Alec shot Logan an angry look, amazed at how easily the older man could dismiss Max from his thoughts. Alec had never mastered that particular trick, though not for lack of trying. ' _I oughtta ask him for pointers,'_  he thought sardonically. Yeah, he could just picture the two of them, drinks in hand, bonding over ways to insulate themselves from the bitchy woman in their lives.

 

He grinned, amused by the surreal image of him and Logan bonding over anything. He respected the guy, but he didn’t like him. Even more so now that his heart and his body were involved with Max. Not that she cared one way or the other about his opinion on the subject.

 

Alec sighed heavily. The regret and longing he’d heard in Max’s voice rankled more than he cared to admit. ' _Well, what did you expect? One day of mind-blowing sex and Max would fall hopelessly in love with you and stop pining for that Norm?'_  he mocked himself. ' _Get real, soldier. She doesn’t even LIKE you. How many ways does she have to say it?'_

 

Alec retreated to the basement. The piano was waiting for him, silent and unjudging. The mere sight of it soothed him. He caressed it lovingly, his fingers skimming the cool ivory keys, and then sat down to play. It was the one good thing Manticore had ever done for him. He threw himself into the music, his pain and loneliness vanishing into the space between the notes.

 

The sad, haunting music drifted through the house. Max raised her head slightly from where it rested against the bathroom door. She stared at the grainy pattern of the wood, her eyes out of focus. ' _Chopin,'_  she guessed, recalling her ‘lessons’ from the days before she was recaptured, when Logan had tried to educate her about the finer things in life. With a sigh she moved back from the door and pulled her top over her head.

 

Max stared at her reflection in the mirror, her attention riveted on the two very different brands on her skin – the tattoo above her heart and the bite mark on her neck. With trembling fingers Max touched the mark Alec had made, the fading but still tangible reminder of what had happened between them.

 

She fervently wished she hadn’t reacted quite so hastily to the sight of the rune. Nothing was resolved between them, and now they were right back in the middle of this twisted love triangle. Only this time, things were a lot more complicated.

 

She winced when she realized what Alec must think of her. He had felt so used when all she did was let Logan think they had been together. Now they really had, and she’d bolted for her safety net at the first sign of a crisis. And dragged Alec into this mess right along with her.

 

He had every right to be pissed with her for this. If their roles were reversed she would have left him at the lake without a backward glance, and probably would have backed the car over him once or twice just to get her point across. But Alec was here with her. Max knew she was far, far luckier than she deserved.

 

She had to fix this. If they were ever going to find a way back to their friendship, she had to make him understand that coming back to Logan was just a means to an end. Only she had no idea how. A simple apology wasn’t going to cut it. Alec wasn’t likely to believe one, given their past history together. He would smile and nod and pretend like he did, but inside he would just shrug it off. Probably because Max wasn’t very good at apologizing.

 

' _I suppose we could always try talking about it.'_  Max snorted. Not likely. Opening up about their feelings was not something either of them was very good at. She desperately needed Original Cindy’s advice. Her boo always knew what to do, and could be counted on to say so. Too bad Max hadn’t listened all those times OC told her to ‘step up and come correct with the boy’. Practice would have made this a whole lot easier.

 

Max forced her attention back to the task at hand. She snapped a few pictures and then yanked her top back on and hurried down the hall to Logan’s office. Asha was gone, which pleased Max immensely. She really wasn’t up to another confrontation with the blonde. She set the digital camera in its cradle, careful not to get too close to Logan, and then backed away hurriedly. She had too many deaths on her conscience as it was.

 

Max wrapped her arms around her ribs, suddenly conscious of the fact she’d left her leather gloves in the car. She’d forgotten how awkward and draining it was to constantly monitor her every movement. How had she kept this up for months?

 

“I’m glad to see you, Max. I missed you.” Logan’s blue eyes shone with his happiness. He smiled up at her with that shy smile she used to adore and waited for her to play her part in their little drama. She was supposed to smile and tease him about not being able to live without her, and then they would both sigh and steal longing glances when they thought the other one wasn’t looking.

 

But Max had broken that cycle when she left, and she couldn’t bring herself to step back into it again. She was finally free of that life. She felt a bitter pang of regret in her heart. This wasn’t the fairytale ending they were supposed to have, but it was the one they got.

 

Her vision wavered and Logan’s features were replaced by a pair of mischievous hazel eyes and a sexy, wicked grin. She blinked rapidly several times to clear her sight and mentally smacked herself. The two men were as different as it was possible to be and still be part of the same species. She knew who they were. Comparing them wouldn’t help matters any.

 

And it wasn’t as if there was a decision to be made. She and Logan were over. End of story. And as for her and Alec – they would have a talk that would most likely degenerate into a fight and then they would go back to being friends and everything would be normal again.

 

Logan’s smile faltered when Max failed to respond immediately. “Max?”

 

Max jerked her attention back to her surroundings. She forced a small smile to her lips, and waited for the ‘but’ she sensed was coming. With Logan, there was almost always a ‘but’. Sure enough, Logan’s lips thinned and his face settled into a disapproving look. “You never called, Max,” he said accusingly. “Is there a shortage of phones in the rest of the country or were you just too busy to let me know you were still alive?”

 

' _Well, I deserved that. Even Alec knew I should've called.'_  The reason she hadn’t was just as elusive now as it was that night in the bar when Alec had asked her the same question. Max glanced away from the accusation in Logan’s gaze. She chewed on her bottom lip and shrugged one shoulder. “Sorry.”

 

“Sorry? That’s it?” Logan was hoping for something a little more sincere than that. Some kind of reassurance that she had thought about him every day the way he had thought about her. Instead, he got an off-hand reply like he’d expect from Alec. She was becoming more and more like him all the time. Logan felt his temper rising.

 

“Max, you’ve been gone for weeks! I had no idea where you were. If something happened to you, if you got caught, I wouldn’t have been able to help!”

 

“I’m a big girl, Logan,” Max retorted. “I can take care of myself. I did for a lot of years before I met you.”

 

“True,” he conceded reluctantly, “but you weren’t dragging around a screw-up like Alec. Max, I wish you weren’t out there with just him to watch your back. I’m surprised he hasn’t done something incredibly stupid and selfish to put you in danger. You’re not safe with him.” Logan strove to keep the edge out of his voice. He needed Max to take him seriously and not just dismiss his fears out of hand as the angry ramblings of a jealous ex-boyfriend. The fact that he WAS an angry, jealous ex-boyfriend in no way lessened the fact that Alec was not to be trusted with Max’s safety. Or Max’s anything else.

 

Max stared at Logan. Once, in the not-so-distant past she knew she would have nodded her head and blithely agreed that Alec was an unreliable screw-up, conveniently forgetting how many times he’d watched her back when she was too busy playing the hero to take basic safety precautions. He whined and complained the whole time, but he was always there when she needed him.

 

 _And wasn’t ALEC the one who always saved your ass whenever LOGAN put you in danger for one of his oh-so-important Eyes Only missions?_  her inner cynic whispered in the back of her mind.

 

Max took a deep breath and fought to keep hold of the fraying ends of her temper. Now was not the time to fight with Logan about Alec. Not when the runes were back to playing tag and she was It. “Logan, that’s unfair. Alec’s got my back, he always has. I trust him.”

 

Logan either ignored or didn’t notice the warning look in her eyes. “You trust him?” he repeated, incredulous. “Since when?” He had listened to endless tirades from her about how unreliable, untrustworthy, and just plain annoying Alec was. ' _But apparently it’s ok to be a self-involved sociopath, as long as you’re handsome and charming.'_

 

“Why would you trust the guy, Max? Has he suddenly started thinking before he acts? I seriously doubt it. He’s always playing an angle. He never thinks about anyone but himself, he just does whatever the hell he wants and damn the consequences to anybody else.” Logan couldn’t keep the bitterness from leaking into his voice.

 

Max suddenly clued in that this fight had very little to do with her safety. This was about the fact that she’d lied to Logan about Alec, all those months ago when she nearly killed him and she was desperate to push him away. Apparently he wasn’t as accepting of it as he seemed at the time.

 

 _Well duh,_  mocked the voice inside her head.  _Did you really think he’d be over it just because you moved on? Come on. He thinks you cheated on him with a man you always claimed to hate. And he loves playing the martyr. Of course he’s going to ride your ass over this._

 

But she couldn’t tell him it was all a lie, not after what happened yesterday. She and Alec weren’t ‘like that’ – at least she didn’t think they were – but they weren’t ‘not like that’ either. Max scrubbed her face with her hands. Heart-to-hearts were emotionally exhausting; no wonder she avoided them. In a tired voice she said, “Alec lives in the moment because that may be all he has. And when you think about it, it’s not such a bad way to live. Where did taking it slow and being cautious get us? A year of pasta dinners and a little flirting. Not exactly the makings of a legendary romance.”

 

“Oh, and what you have with Alec is?” Logan scoffed. “C’mon, Max. His idea of romance is a slick pick-up line and a jug of beer.”

 

“Well at least he goes after what he wants, which is more than can be said for either of us.”

 

“He certainly has done that,” Logan said caustically. He couldn’t stop the words from coming out if he tried. And for once he didn’t want to. Today he didn’t feel like playing the role of understanding, supportive friend that Max had cast him in. Wasn’t he living proof of the old adage, ‘nice guys finish last’?

 

“The guy’s a slut, Max. He’ll sleep with anyone. He doesn’t love you.”

 

Max flinched. Logan’s brutal words laid bare her secret fears. “I am sooo not having this conversation with you.” She snatched the cordless phone off the desk and stormed from the room.

 

Logan ripped his glasses off and tossed them carelessly on the desk, and buried his face in his hands. His eyes slid shut wearily. That did not go the way he intended it to. It was true what they said about the road to hell.

 

Max paced the length of the living room, listening as the phone rang shrilly. ' _Pick up, Cindy. Please pick up,'_  she pleaded. The phone ignored her pleas and went stubbornly unanswered. ' _So typical of my crappy luck.'_  She was caught in an awkward, tangled love triangle and facing a crisis of biblical proportions, and her best friend wasn’t answering her phone. In sheer frustration, Max threw the phone at the couch. It bounced off the back and clattered to the floor.

 

Max stared at the front door, strongly tempted to grab Alec and swing by Crash to find OC. To go hang with their friends and forget just for one night that she was a hunted fugitive. Drink a few beers, beat Sketchy’s ass at pool, have a long-overdue chat with her boo, and end the night on the Space Needle. It felt like forever since the last time she and Alec were there. She opened her mouth to yell for Alec, and then paused. Too many people at Crash knew who they were. More importantly, knew WHAT they were. Not all of them could be trusted not to turn her and Alec in for a quick buck.

 

Max sighed dejectedly. Laying low sucked. No wonder Joshua looked like a kicked puppy every time she warned him not to go outside. She wandered aimlessly around the room, restless and upset. The sad sound of the piano music suited her mood perfectly. Her hand went to her heart and she absently rubbed the rune through her shirt. Heat and seizures were bad enough, but now she had these tattoos appearing and disappearing with a mind of their own. Just one more thing she couldn’t control. Some days it felt like this freak show body didn’t belong to her; it was just something she had on loan from Sandeman.

 

The runes set her apart, made her special, and not in a good way. She never felt more alone. The sooner she figured out how to foil the conclave’s nasty plan for world domination, the sooner she could get White off her ass and go back to her strange little life. Provided, of course, that saving the world didn’t involve sacrificing her in some whacked ritual.

 

The music ended and a few seconds later Alec came bounding up the stairs, cheeky grin firmly in place. He collapsed on the couch and, predictably, flipped on the TV. Max rolled her eyes. ' _Him and his boobtube.'_  He patted the cushion next to him but she just shook her head and continued pacing. She was too on edge to watch as Alec channel surfed. Alec shrugged and turned his face back to the TV, but his eyes followed Max on her slow circuit around the room. He had sworn to himself he wouldn’t let her get to him, but her hurt and bewilderment cut him to the bone. He hated to see her so forlorn, rubbing at the rune as if she could make it disappear. He stifled a groan. So much for putting up walls to keep her out.

 

Her restless feet took her past the open door to Logan’s office. She paused and glanced inside. Logan was hunched over the keyboard, typing furiously. She focused her vision on the screen, unable to suppress the surge of hope that maybe Logan had made some progress in deciphering the files. Her hopes were dashed when she realized the translation program was running in the background while he worked on a cable hack on sector police corruption.

 

Max was unreasonably disappointed that Logan could concentrate on anything else, but quickly repressed it. He wasn’t fluent in Linear A. He couldn’t translate the files by hand, so until the computer did its thing he might as well tattle on some cops on the take. Again.

 

Max sighed. _'Blah blah, woof woof.'_ She moved restlessly around the room, unable to concentrate her thoughts on anything for more than a few seconds. She passed in front of the TV, still absently rubbing the rune.

 

“Enough with the pacing Max, you’re making me dizzy. What are you, a lab rat looking for the cheese?” Alec grumbled. He snagged her arm above the elbow and yanked her off balance. As she tumbled inelegantly onto the couch beside him, he shifted his grip to her hand. Tugging it away from her heart, he placed it on his leg and covered it with his own, their fingers lacing together.

 

Stunned, Max gaped at Alec. She didn’t know whether to hit him for manhandling her, or cling to him for comfort. She glanced down at their joined hands. It was so smoothly done, she might not have noticed. Probably wouldn’t have just a few weeks ago. But the truth was he always did things like that; little things that instantly made her feel better. Only it was so subtle it went unnoticed.

 

Alec watched her warily out of the corner of his eye. The fact that she hadn’t hit him yet was making him slightly nervous. Max was a walking knee-jerk reaction; annoy her and her fist lashed out. This uncharacteristic hesitation didn’t bode well for his health and well-being. ' _Probably can’t decide which body part to mangle first.'_

 

Torn between her competing impulses, Max decided to indulge both. She smacked Alec with her free hand, but just hard enough to salve her pride without leaving a bruise, and then leaned into his side and laid her head on his broad shoulder.

 

Alec went stiff with shock. ' _Ohh-kaay_ _.'_  His mind raced, trying to come up with a more plausible explanation than ‘Max is on psychotropic drugs’. Either she was playacting for Logan’s benefit, or she actually sought out physical contact with him. Alec’s eyes flicked over to the office. Logan couldn’t even see them from this angle, provided of course he could tear himself away from his beloved computer long enough to look around. ' _So that means…?'_  Alec scrunched his face up in thought. He had no idea what it meant, other than the obvious. Max wanted comfort and she’d turned to him to get it. The fact that he was the only person in the house she could touch without killing was beside the point, since it had never weighed much in his favour before.

 

He grinned and relaxed into the couch. Touching was good. Touching was very good, considering she hadn’t said more than two words to him the whole drive back here.

 

Max smiled in relief as the tension eased from his body. She had feared he might make up some lame excuse and bolt. Snuggling closer to him, she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and breathed in his familiar scent. She felt safe. It was a rare and wonderful feeling for her, something she rarely had since she lost her siblings. Whatever the runes said, whatever happened, she wasn’t alone in this. She tilted her head to look at him, intending to thank him, something she knew he didn’t hear from her as often as he deserved.

 

Brown eyes met hazel, their faces only inches apart. Her breath caught in her throat and she froze, suddenly conscious of his warm, firm thigh beneath her hand. Her fingers twitched.

 

His lips curved into a slow, sexy smile. Her heart accelerated to a fever pitch. His smile was pure sin. It turned her insides to liquid heat and made her think things she was sure were on the list of things ‘nice girls don’t do’. A hundred caged butterflies hammered against her ribs. She wanted to devour him. She wanted to be devoured by him. Her tongue darted out to moisten dry lips.

 

Alec’s eyes darkened at the unmistakeable look of desire in her eyes. He could see her pulse racing, next to the brand that marked her as his. He felt a primal sense of satisfaction at the sight of his mark on her. Rational reasons why he shouldn’t do this were lost in the urge to taste her again. He dropped his head slightly, his lips gravitating towards hers.

 

Max bit her lower lip. ' _This is madness.'_  They were in Logan’s house. Jumping Alec on the couch was a very, very bad idea. She tore her hand from his grasp and leaped to her feet. Her eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but at him. She had to put some distance between them before she did something foolish, like throw herself back in his arms and kiss him senseless. Before she could question whether it really was such a foolish thing to do.

 

“I’m, uh, gonna go talk to Logan. See if he’s had any luck.” She turned and walked across the room on legs gone weak at the knees.

 

Alec flung his head back, banging it on the back of the couch in the process, and stared up at the ceiling. He was furious with himself for being such a gullible fool. He knew she would react that way, and yet he still let down his guard. When was he going to learn?

 

 _We weren’t designed to be chumps_. His own words echoed in his brain, mocking him. He had never been anything else when it came to Max.

 

Max paused on the threshold to the office and took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart. She shoved her hands in her pockets so Logan wouldn’t see them shaking. She didn’t really expect any progress on the files, but talking to Logan was the perfect distraction from thoughts of Alec. “Logan?” she called out softly. Logan jumped in his chair, startled by her unexpected appearance behind him. “Sorry,” she said apologetically.

 

Logan smiled wryly. “I’m used to it. Your family has this thing about sneaking up on me.” He strove to keep his voice light. He didn’t want to fight with her again; the wedge between them was big enough already.

 

“Blame the feline DNA,” Max said with a small smile. She pointed to the monitor behind them. “So, um, learn the magic words to summon the holy snake goddess yet?”

 

“Yeah, but she isn’t answering her pager,” he teased.

 

“Damn. I wanna ask her what to wear to the Coming. I mean, are jeans okay or do I hafta go with the robe and warpaint look?”

 

“Well, considering you’re crashing the party… I’d say jeans.” They shared a laugh and then Logan turned back to the computer and brought up the image of the new rune. “Oh, by the way, I translated your rune.”

 

“What?!” Max sputtered, furious that he had kept her waiting. “And it didn’t occur to you to come tell me?”

 

Alec snapped his head up, a little unnerved to hear Max direct her anger at Logan instead of him. She was glaring daggers at Logan, both hands planted on her hips, like something out of the Twilight Zone. Alec shook his head in disbelief and got to his feet, curiosity and concern sending him across the room to stand with Max.

 

Logan blanched at the anger in Max’s voice. “You were watching TV. I didn’t want to disturb you,” he said feebly. It was as close to a lie as Logan Cale, Eyes Only ever got. He wouldn’t have hesitated to interrupt her TV watching if she had been alone. But he had heard the piano stop, heard Alec join her in the living room, and he simply hadn’t felt up to seeing them together.

 

“It’s a re-run,” Alec said, rolling his eyes at the older man’s obtuseness. Logan grit his teeth and forced out a tight smile. He didn’t need Alec’s ‘help’ with this, he was well aware he looked like a jerk.

 

“Logan!” Max growled in exasperation. “Tell. Me. Now.”

 

“Blood. It means blood.”

 

A cold shiver ran down Max’s spine. “That’s it, that’s all it says?” Logan nodded solemnly. “What kind of lame message is that? Whose blood? Their blood…my blood…snake blood? What the hell does it mean?” Max’s eyes darted back and forth between the two men, pleading for an answer neither could give her.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Max sat on the Space Needle with her chin on her knees and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. She shivered slightly. The night air was cool and damp; a storm was blowing in off the ocean. She’d been there for hours, in the same position, just staring out into the darkness. Normally the great height helped put her problems in perspective, but not tonight. The chances of her having a long and happy life were rapidly diminishing with the discovery of each new rune, and sitting alone in the dark wasn’t helping her come to terms with that.

 

An irritated sigh escaped her lips. Suddenly she regretted not letting Alec come too. She wouldn’t be wallowing in misery right now if he was here with her.

 

Max glanced to the east and sighed again. The dark sky was streaked with grey. Dawn was approaching. She stood and brushed off the back of her jeans and walked to the very edge of the huge metal disk. The entire city was spread out before her like a patchwork quilt, the dirt and poverty muted in the half-light of early dawn. Max stared at it hungrily, memorizing every detail of her chosen city. The pleasure she felt at finally being home again was tempered by the fear that she’d have to leave just as soon as she settled in. Experience taught her nothing in life was permanent, but she had yet to master the fine art of embracing change. She needed roots, a home, a place where she belonged.

 

She flung her arms wide as if to embrace the city, and then smiled self-consciously at her uncharacteristic display of emotion. She backed off from the edge and hurried down the stairs to the street.

 

The car was still parked in the alley where she left it. She scowled at it, still angry that she lost her Ninja after the hostage-taking at Jam Pony. Racing through the city just wasn’t the same rush without the wind in her face. She flipped her hair over her shoulder with an irritated toss of her head and slid into the driver’s seat. It might not compete with her bike, but four wheels were definitely better than two feet. She had no desire to sneak and creep her way across half the city and back again, just to visit her beloved high place.

 

Max sped down quiet, empty streets and pulled up at Joshua’s old place just as the lights went on next door. She ran across the lawn and ducked inside the house before anyone noticed her. No sense advertising her return to Seattle; White would be hard enough to stop without dodging his goons at every turn.

 

The house was dark and silent. Even Logan-the-insomniac had given up hacking for the night and gone to bed. Max tiptoed towards her bedroom, careful not to step on the creaky floorboard in the middle of the hall. She moved swiftly past Logan’s room but paused mid-stride outside of Alec’s. She glanced from his door to her empty room at the end of the hall, and then shrugged one delicate shoulder. ' _If I can’t sleep, why should he? Besides, he did offer to keep me company.'_

 

She inched the door open just wide enough to slip inside and then eased it shut as silently as possible. Logan was a light sleeper and the last thing she wanted was for him to wake and catch her sneaking into Alec’s room in the wee hours of the morning. Their friendship was strained enough as it was; flaunting whatever it was she had with Alec would only make matters worse.

 

She turned around to face the bed, her lips parted to whisper Alec’s name, but her breath caught in her throat and all she could do was stare.

 

Alec was sprawled on his back, the sheets pushed down around his hips. One hand rested lightly on his bare abdomen, the other was flung across the bed as if in search of her. The early morning light pierced a gap in the curtains and dappled his skin. Max watched mesmerized as the light and shadows shifted and reformed with the steady rise and fall of his chest. She was entranced by the sight of him. It never failed to snatch her breath away and leave her weak. He was perfect.

 

He stirred in his sleep, his head turning towards the door as if subconsciously aware of her presence. His lips parted slightly and she could almost swear she heard him murmur her name.

 

Her heart hammered against her ribs and she felt the familiar coil of heat in the pit of her stomach that possessed her every time she was near him. She wanted him. She always had, with an intensity that frightened her. He muddled her thoughts and blunted her self-control to the point where she didn’t trust herself around him.

 

But she trusted him. And maybe that was enough.

 

The world was a harsh, unforgiving place. Was it such a sin to seize whatever comfort and happiness she could find? Didn’t they both deserve that much after all they’d suffered?

 

' _And besides, actions speak louder than words,'_  she reasoned to herself. She still owed him an apology. She couldn’t begin to explain herself to him, the reasons why she did what she did, but maybe she could show him how much he meant to her. How much she needed him in her life. How badly she wanted him.

 

Max shrugged out of her jacket and let it fall in a puddle on the floor. Her hands went to the hem of her shirt and she pulled it up and over her head. With a careless flick of her wrist it joined the jacket on the floor. Moving more swiftly now, she knelt and slipped off her shoes and socks and then shimmied out of her jeans, leaving her clad only in her bra and panties. She padded across the room, her small pink tongue darting out to lick her lips.

 

She slid between the sheets and eased herself into place beside him, moving slowly so as not to jostle him awake. He instinctively scooped her into his arms and tucked her against his side, her head cradled on his shoulder, his cheek resting on the top of her head. He sighed contentedly and his warm breath ruffled her hair and sent shivers down her spine. She shifted her weight slightly, throwing one leg across his hips, and laid her hand flat against his chest. His heart beat steadily against her palm.

 

She lay still for several minutes, enjoying the feeling of being warm and safe in his arms. It felt the way she always imagined home would feel. Being around him, one of her own, was a dream come true for her.

 

And the fact that Alec was incredibly hot didn’t hurt a bit either.

 

Max tilted her head and kissed him softly, her touch feather-light. He shivered, the contact raising goose bumps on his arms. Her lips curved into a naughty smile; this was going to be fun. She kissed him again, a little deeper. He responded sleepily, still lost in his dreams.

 

“Alec,” she whispered enticingly. He stirred at the sound of her voice but didn’t wake. She pouted. This called for more drastic measures. She gently traced the contours of his lips with the tip of her tongue and then tugged on his bottom lip. He groaned softly and nuzzled her cheek, cat-like. That simple touch made her heart race. She increased the pressure, wanting to taste him and too impatient to wait any longer. His lips parted obligingly beneath hers and she delved into his mouth, her tongue teasing his. His arms tightened around her, pulling her closer.

 

Alec kissed the girl in his dreams hungrily, lost in the taste of her lips and the feel of her in his arms. He breathed in deeply, her scent making his head swim. He caressed the soft, warm skin of her back as his tongue duelled with hers.

 

Max purred and nipped at his lower lip with her sharp teeth. Shock coursed through him at the slight pain. It was too real for this to be just a vivid dream.

 

Alec’s eyes snapped open. The luscious brunette of his dreams was really in his arms, kissing him. He gaped at Max. He had no idea how she got there. He didn’t even remember her coming to bed last night. Somehow he must have rolled towards her in his sleep, his body acting out his dream. Or was his dream re-enacting what his body was already doing? He shook the thought away, too confused and sleep-muddled to sort out what was going on. This was Max after all; however it started, it was almost certain to end violently. His biggest concern was to get out from under her leg before she drilled him with her knee and made children an impossibility.

 

Max frowned when Alec’s mouth went slack under hers. She pulled her head back to look him in the eyes and smiled at the stunned expression on his face. He looked so adorable when he was nervous. “Morning sleepyhead,” she said cheerfully.

 

“Max, wha-, whaddaya doing?” he stammered, disconcerted by the playful smile that lit up her face. Was she trying to lull him into a false sense of complacency before she attacked? Or worse yet, was this part of an elaborate ploy designed to keep Logan safely at arm’s length? He watched her warily, alert for any sudden movements.

 

Max licked her lips and bent her head to kiss him again, but her downward descent was halted when Alec grasped her upper arms firmly. He wanted to roll her under him and take her up on the invitation in her eyes, but instead he pushed her off his chest and held her at arm’s length. “Un un.” He wasn’t doing this. Not until he knew why SHE was.

 

“Excuse me?” Her eyes flashed angrily. Since when did Alec of all people turn down sex? Was she not good enough for more than a single day of passion?

 

“Don’t tell me you don’t want me,” she hissed, stung by his rejection. She shifted her position, deliberately grinding her hips against his to prove her point. Or rather, his. She could feel his erection through the two thin layers of cloth that separated their flesh. He groaned aloud before he could stop himself. Vindicated, she squirmed again, making his hips buck in response.

 

His sleep-fogged, lust-fogged brain struggled to come up with a rational reason why this was a bad idea, but it was difficult to think with a warm, squirming Max in his arms. He glanced around the room, in desperate need of a distraction, and noticed a very familiar-looking ceiling. “We’re in LOGAN’S house!” he protested.

 

“So we’ll be quiet,” Max argued. Alec arched an eyebrow. She blushed hotly. Quiet was not the best adjective to describe their lovemaking.

 

Max shrugged off her discomfort. Being teased by him wasn’t a new thing for her. True she wasn’t used to his taunts being so blatantly sexual, but then again she wasn’t used to being nearly naked in his arms either. ' _If he crosses the line, I’ll sooo kick his ass.'_  That thought restored her equilibrium. She could handle this; she could handle him. She would not be deterred from her mission.

 

Alec stared at her, bewildered by her non-reaction. Just last night she flung herself off the couch as if he’d sprouted horns and a forked tail and they hadn’t even kissed. Now she was in his bed, lying on top of him in her underwear no less, and demanding to know why he hadn’t ravished her already. It made no sense to him. Unfortunately, this was the normal state of affairs when dealing with Max and one that usually led to him getting hit. Too bad his copy of the script got lost in the mail. Again.

 

He was jolted out of his thoughts by another calculated thrust of her hips. “So what’s the problem, soldier boy?” she teased.

 

' _A lack of trust? Wisdom born of experience? The instinct for self-preservation?'_  His mind rattled over the many possibilities. The tiny hope that maybe this time it wasn’t just a cruel trick kept him pinned beneath her. He was torn between the urge to claim her as her rightful mate and the need to know for certain that she wanted him for himself and not just as a barrier between her and Logan.

 

At a loss for what else to do, he blurted out the truth before he could stop himself. “I don’t want to be a substitute, Max.” Instantly he wished he could take back the words.

 

He forced his mask into place, but not before Max caught the wounded, insecure look in his eyes. It cut right through her. How many times had she hurt him by her indecisive waffling? Shame and guilt burned through her. Her first instinct was to run but she forced herself to face him. She looked deeply into his eyes and willed him to see the honesty there. “Good to know, because I don’t want a substitute.” 

 

She took advantage of his suddenly loose grip on her arms to drop her weight forward and capture his lips. Alec gave up all attempts at restraint. He fisted his hands in her hair and pulled her mouth more firmly on his, tilting her head to give him greater access. He plundered her mouth, his tongue wrestling with hers.

 

Max surrendered to his kiss, her hands clutching at him for balance as her head spun dizzily. Her world narrowed to the feel of his lips and teeth and tongue on hers. Just then she wouldn’t have noticed or cared if the house fell down around them.

 

She broke from the kiss, gasping for air. Her heart thudded in her ears. Alec’s eyes darkened at the sight of her flushed cheeks and swollen lips. She licked her lips and he growled and reached for her but she batted his hands away playfully. This was her apology; she needed to be in control of it.

 

Max nibbled on the tender skin of his throat and then trailed hot kisses down his chest. Alec’s stomach clenched in anticipation as he watched her bent head slowly inch lower and lower down his body. His skin felt like it was on fire.

 

Her long hair fell in a tangled mess around her face, the silken strands getting in her eyes and mouth. Annoyed, she gathered it all to one side of her head and held it out of the way as she returned to her task with renewed vigour. She dipped her tongue into his navel and grinned at his sharp intake of breath.

 

Alec froze at the sight of the four black squiggles on Max’s spine below her barcode that were now bared to his view. Four very distinctive marks that had nothing to do with Manticore’s designer label. ' _Oh shit.'_  Alec cursed Sandeman’s timing. The fates were conspiring to ruin his life, yet again. This news was too important to her to delay, which meant other, much more interesting activities would have to wait. He sighed. He just hoped whatever was in the water that made Max want him would still be there tomorrow.

 

“Max,” he whispered urgently, trying to capture her attention before she moved any lower and he forgot his own name. Max raised her head to look at him, her senses on high alert at the terseness in his voice.

 

He smiled apologetically, knowing how much she wouldn’t want to hear what he was about to tell her. “There’s, uh… there’s four new runes on your back.” He gently touched the marks with his fingertips.

 

The colour drained from her face and she shook her head in denial, her eyes wide with shock. She craned her neck but without any owl DNA in her cocktail she couldn’t twist her head around far enough to catch a glimpse. She rolled off Alec and curled into a ball on her side, her arms wrapped around her ribs.

 

Alec brushed her hair from her face with a gentle hand. “I’ll get the camera,” he whispered.

 

Max nodded dumbly, not trusting her voice. Angry tears filled her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

 

Alec planted a kiss on her bare shoulder and hopped off the bed. He didn’t take the time to get dressed. Max looked devastated and he wanted to get this done with as quickly as possible. He crept through the silent house to the office, grabbed the digital camera off the desk, and hurried back to his room. Just as he passed Logan’s door it opened and Logan stepped out into the hall.

 

Logan looked at Alec quizzically, curious as to why the X5 was skulking through the house this early in the morning, dressed only in his underwear.  Then he noticed the camera in Alec’s hand. Logan frowned. ' _Max has a new rune, and woke Alec to get a picture,'_  he concluded. His expression lightened as his confusion cleared, but then he pursed his lips in disapproval. ' _Couldn’t the guy at least have the decency to get dressed? He’s so disrespectful to her!'_

 

Alec watched, amused, as Logan struggled to come up with an acceptable reason why Alec needed to fetch the camera at 6 a.m., wearing only his boxers. He could practically read the older man’s thoughts from the expressions that flittered across his face.

 

Max’s words echoed in Alec’s mind.  _I don’t want a substitute. You taste better._  Alec repressed the urge to smirk. It wasn’t polite to gloat.

 

He immediately felt guilty. Logan loved her, in his own possessive, blinkered sort of way. Knowing the truth would kill him. He sidestepped Logan and cracked open his bedroom door just wide enough for him to slip inside, trying to block Logan’s view of the interior with his body. Logan didn’t need to know that Max was nearly naked in Alec’s bed. Let him keep his illusions.

 

Logan caught a brief, tantalizing glimpse of Max’s naked leg, from her delicate ankle to the soft curve of her calf and the dip of her knee, before Alec shut the door. Realization hit him, hard. Max hadn’t found the rune; Alec had. She was in his bed, naked, while he was sleeping in the next room. His stomach churned and he stumbled towards the bathroom, afraid he might be sick.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Three pairs of eyes watched impatiently as the computer searched its database for a match to the mysterious black markings. Max paced anxiously, her stomach in knots. As usual she was oblivious to the emotional undercurrents in the room.

 

Alec slouched in his chair, his fingers tapping arhythmically against his knee. He kept his eyes on Max, but every so often he glanced over at Logan’s tense back. He felt guilty and uncomfortable, even though he told himself there was no reason for it. It wasn’t like he deliberately stole Max away from Logan. SHE came to HIM, willingly. Twice. And technically, she was never Logan’s girlfriend. But still, the nagging sense of guilt was there, and he didn’t like it. It was a rather inconvenient emotion for a trained killer. ' _Damn Max for giving me a conscience anyway.'_

 

To the casual observer Logan was the image of calm, but inside he was a seething mass of emotions. He stared fixedly at the keyboard or the computer screen in front of him; he didn’t trust himself to look at either of the transgenics right now. His stomach threatened to rebel every time he let his thoughts drift. He couldn’t decide which hurt worse; knowing that Max was sleeping with Alec, or knowing that she would sleep with him HERE.

 

He wanted to rant and rave and carry on like a self-righteous lunatic. Stand up and point an accusatory finger and watch her grovel. Baring that, he wanted to get shit-faced drunk. But right now he didn’t have the energy to do either of those things. He doubted he could get up out of his chair. He certainly couldn’t summon the will to care about the fate of the world, although at least it gave him an excuse not to make small talk with her and her boy toy.

 

The computer beeped, the sound harsh and unnaturally loud in the quiet room. Max halted mid-stride. She clenched her fists so hard the knuckles turned white as she fought off the urge to bolt, not at all certain she wanted to hear this. The prophecy was freaky enough as it was. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin a notch, the resolute look on her face that of someone about to face the firing squad.

 

Alec moved swiftly to stand behind her and she leaned back against his chest, grateful for his presence. He rubbed his palms up and down her arms, trying to ease some of the tension from her body.

 

“Huh,” Logan muttered as he scrolled through the output, interested in spite of himself. Nothing like work to pull a workaholic out of a downward spiral of recrimination and regret.

 

“You want a friggin’ drum roll?” Alec snapped when no further comment was forthcoming. Couldn’t Logan see the wait was killing Max?

 

Logan cleared his throat and adopted a tone of voice that would have earned him a job on The Learning Channel. “Each symbol corresponds to one of the ancient evils thought to plague mankind. In the West, they’re known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” He pointed to each symbol in turn as he intoned its name. “War. Famine. Pestilence. Death.”

 

“Great. Just great. Like a broken world’s not bad enough, now we’re living in the Book of Revelations.” Max threw up her arms and turned to resume her frantic pacing. She struggled to repress a rising tide of panic.

 

Alec snagged her arm. “Wait.” He stared intently at the screen, his head tilted slightly to one side. “Look again. There’s FIVE symbols there, not four.” He pointed to her barcode. The four runes were arrayed in a precise horizontal line beneath the hatch marks of her barcode. Taken as a unit, they matched the dimensions of the barcode in size and shape, making two distinct symbol groups. Max against the Apocalypse.

 

“You’re right,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. Her barcode was so much a part of who she was that it hadn’t even registered, but it clearly lined up with the runes. “So… I’m some kind of fifth Horseman? ‘Misery’ maybe?”

 

“No, of course not,” Logan protested. He glared at Alec for even suggesting it. Couldn’t he see he was upsetting her? “White said Sandeman betrayed the cult by creating transgenics, right? So Sandeman must’ve believed you could stop whatever is going to happen.”

 

But even as he denied the possibility, part of him couldn’t help but wonder if this was the runic equivalent of flashing yellow lights and a ‘Danger Dead Ahead’ sign. What did they really know about Sandeman and his motives? Just because he had a falling out with the Conclave didn’t mean he disagreed with their fundamental outlook on life. But if that was the case, why wouldSandeman invest Max with the power to stop the Familiars’ evil plan? Unless Sandeman belonged to yet another secret faction that was using Max to destroy both humans AND Familiars.Logan pinched the bridge of his nose. Too many unanswered questions, too many possibilities.

 

Max shied away from the glimmer of fear she saw, or thought she saw, in Logan’s eyes. She didn’t want him of all people to look at her that way, like a monster to be feared. A freak. It was why she never told him about Ben, or about that night with her siblings in the woods outside Manticore. She spun away so quickly she stumbled into Alec. His arms instantly went out to steady her, and she took advantage of the moment to bury her face in his chest. He held her close and rubbed her back with soothing, repetitive motions.

 

Logan tasted bile in the back of his throat at the sight of Max in Alec’s arms. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be the one to comfort her, and he would be if Alec hadn’t cost them their chance at a cure. ' _Bastard.'_

 

Logan pushed aside his doubts and reached out to Max the only way left to him, with words. “It’s going to be ok, Max. You’re meant to do this. You’re special.”

 

Of course she was; she was designed that way. They all were. Her eyes snapped open. ' _They designed us to be special. All of us.'_  Max raised her head and stared intently at Alec. “We’re all special. Every one of us. You, me, Joshua… Xs AND freaks. We’re special.”

 

“Well yeah, but you more than most Ms. Perfect DNA,” Alec teased gently. She looked so wan and pale; he wanted to see the sparkle back in her eyes.

 

Max shook her head impatiently. He didn’t understand. “No. ALL of us.” Max’s forehead creased into a frown as she struggled to put her sudden realization into words. “Look, if all it takes is one transgenic to stop the Coming, then why didn’t Sandeman stop after Joshua? Why did he create an entire army of soldiers strong and fast enough to take on the Familiars? Because whatever the runes are telling me to do, I can’t do it alone. Think about it. One person up against something they’ve been planning for 5,000 years? It’s ridiculous. It’s gonna take all of us to stop them.”

 

Max watched as understanding lit Alec’s eyes. “We need to regroup,” he said calmly.

 

“How?” Max whispered. The dispersal happened so quickly, they didn’t even have a contact number set up. How could they possibly reach all the scattered transgenics in time?

 

The two X5s turned to Logan, the same thought in both their minds. “Logan buddy,” Alec said jovially, “time to take your EO gig and go national.” Max’s head bobbed in silent agreement.

 

Logan’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe his ears. This was so reckless it made Alec’s other hare-brained schemes look sane in comparison. ' _And Max is actually agreeing with him?!'_  Logan shook his head in flat denial. “No. No way. Are you crazy? If I do a national cable hack, White and every other trannie-hater in the country will see it too and know exactly where to find Max!”

 

Alec rolled his eyes. “Not if we use a secure codeword.” He ignored the grumpy look Logan sent his way, his attention already focused on the problem of how to safely encode their message. Chewing on his thumb, he rapidly catalogued the possibilities and rejected them one by one. Manticore had developed several encryption systems of its own, but he had no way of knowing if they were compromised when the NSA stepped in to mop up Renfro’s mess. He needed something simple.

 

Max kept her eyes locked on Alec, trusting him to come up with a plan. Logan opened his mouth to pitch in his two cents but she silenced him with a quick hand gesture.

 

Suddenly Alec’s eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. “Got it!” He turned to Max excitedly. “When you lose something, the most obvious spot is always the last place you look. So we tell ‘em to report to their units.”

 

Logan sighed audibly. Sometimes he wondered how Alec had ever managed to complete any of his missions. “That’s nice, Alec,” he said in a condescending tone of voice. “But the point is, we still have to tell them WHERE to report in.”

 

“No we don’t,” Alec said cryptically. He was enjoying Logan’s obvious confusion. About time the man realized running an informant net was somewhat different from covert ops. “Without a stated location, they’ll go where we always went to report in.”

 

“The parade ground at Manticore!” Max exclaimed. Alec nodded, a wide grin on his face. “That could work. White’ll think we picked an azimuth before we scattered.”

 

“I dunno,” Logan said as he rubbed the whiskers on his chin thoughtfully, striving to project an image of competence despite being out of his depth. “Sounds kinda vague to me.”

 

“Which is kinda the point, Logan,” Alec said.

 

“They’re smart, Logan. They’ll figure it out,” Max added confidently.

 

“We gotta sign the message. Prove its authenticity,” Alec pointed out to Max. She nodded in understanding.

 

Logan bristled. He glared daggers at the younger man. ' _As if the fact it’s an Eyes Only bulletin isn’t proof enough!'_

 

Alec chuckled at the indignant look on Logan’s face. He wisely refrained from blurting out the truth – that most transgenics didn’t trust the Ordinary or his motives for helping them. If it weren’t for Max, would Eyes Only have done anything for the transgenic cause? Instead, Alec grinned and stated the obvious. “What, you don’t think White could fake an EO hack if he wanted to?”

 

Logan deliberated and then nodded, appeased by Alec’s explanation.

 

“So scoot,” Alec said to Logan, making shooing motions with his hands. “I gotta embed a subroutine into the broadcast.”

 

Logan stared at him, horrified, his hands hovering protectively over the keyboard.

 

“I’m not gonna break it, Logan. Sheesh. Have a little faith. I’m a genetically engineered super soldier. You don’t think they taught me how to use one of these things?” Alec smirked.

 

Logan appealed to Max but she just shrugged, curious to see Alec in action. She suspected this was the part of her day where she found out, yet again, that Alec had skills she wasn’t even aware of.

 

Reluctantly, making no attempt to disguise his scepticism of Alec’s abilities, Logan surrendered his seat in front of the computer. Alec dropped into the chair, cracking his knuckles as he did so. He pulled the Manticore symbol from Logan’s hard drive and programmed in a series of commands. His fingers flew over the keyboard so quickly Logan couldn’t follow.

 

His task complete, Alec stood and gestured to the coveted chair with an elaborate bow. “All yours, Loggie. And as you can see, there’s not a scratch on her.” He grinned at the sour look on Logan’s face. Maybe it was petty to needle the guy, but he was tired of Logan’s superior attitude. He’d tolerate it from Max but not from an Ordinary. Particularly one with no military training whatsoever.

 

Alec laid a reassuring hand on Max’s shoulder before sauntering from the room. “I’m gonna go pack our gear.”

 

Logan’s jaw clenched in anger at the cocky smirk on Alec’s face and the casual, deliberate way he touched her, as if it were no big thing. Every move Alec made deliberately flaunted the fact that he stole Max away from him, Logan was sure of it. He stared unseeing in the direction Alec had gone, despising the transgenic for being and having everything he never could.

 

Max’s exasperated voice calling his name forced his attention back to the task at hand. Once started, it took them very little time for to plan and record the cable hack. Silence descended on the small room when they were finished. Logan turned off the video camera with a flick of the remote and slid his glasses back on his face. “All set,” he said unnecessarily.

 

“Thank you,” Max said softly.

 

“Hey, just doing my bit to help save the world. It’s my thing, right?” he said with a smile. Without Alec in the room, it was almost as if nothing had changed between them. If she would only leave Alec, they could find their way back to each other. He just knew they could

 

Max stared at her shoes and absently fiddled with the hem of her shirt, wishing she were anywhere else. She didn’t know what to say to him anymore. So many topics held landmines for them.

 

Logan cleared his throat. “Max. Be-”

 

“-careful,” she finished for him. They shared a smile. “Don’t worry. Alec’s got my back.”

 

Logan’s smile faded and his expression became a mix of fear and anger. “Please don’t count on him, Max. Alec only looks out for Alec.” He felt compelled to warn her, despite knowing his opinion on the subject wasn’t wanted, and would probably be ignored.

 

When had she stopped listening to him?

 

Max sighed tiredly and wished she hadn’t vented to Logan about Alec and his supposed defaults quite so many times. “You don’t know him the way I do,” she said softly.

 

A spasm of anger and jealousy crossed Logan’s face as he thought of just how well Max knew Alec. Max flinched. She’d caused Logan so much pain. She was tired of lying to him. He didn’t deserve that, not from her, not after all he’d done for her and her family. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage with both hands. “I lied.”

 

Logan stared uncomprehendingly at her. “What?”

 

“I lied. That night you asked me if Alec and I were together.” Her face was still and blank but her eyes pleaded with him to listen. “I had to push you away. I had to keep you safe.”

 

Logan gaped at her, too shocked to frame a reply.

 

Max pressed on. She had to make him understand and not hate her for this. Or Alec. “Alec didn’t even know about it for days. When he finally found out, he was so angry with me. He wanted to tell you. He didn’t want to be the bad guy.”

 

Logan closed his eyes, remembering the day Alec came to the house with an apology on his lips. He’d cut him off, not wanting to hear it. He’d even told the X5 to ‘take care of her’. He’d said it to make her appreciate him but apparently all he did instead was push her into Alec’s arms. Logan cursed his own foolishness, his need to play the noble martyr. He did this to himself, to them. It took him a while to realize Max was still talking.

 

“…didn’t say anything because, no matter what, he’s always had my back. Even when he doesn’t agree with me. I begged him to do this for me.” She paused. Logan still hadn’t said a word and she couldn’t read his expression. She desperately wished she knew what he was thinking. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. I wasn’t strong enough to stay away from you. It was the only thing I could think of to keep you safe.” She shuddered at the thought of his blood on her hands. Fear churned through her. It could still happen, if they weren’t careful. “If you died because of me…” She trailed off and waited for his reaction, her head hanging.

 

“You lied,” he repeated, the words sounding foreign to his ears. Angels weren’t supposed to lie. She nodded and his grey world suddenly went Technicolor. He soared on wings of hope. “And now? Is it a lie now too?”

 

Max flinched at the hope in his voice. A single tear rolled down her cheek. “No,” she said in a small voice.

 

And down he crashed. His heart lay broken and bleeding at her feet and with every word she said she stomped on it with all the strength of her genetically engineered body. “It’s just that we… Well, we’re…” She shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know what it is. But I know it’s something.”

 

“Ah. I see,” he said in a dull tired voice. Logan wanted to be angry with her, wanted to feel something, anything other than the awful crushing numbness in his chest. The worst part of it was he had only himself to blame. He jumped to conclusions and gave her the perfect out. Hell, he practically gave Alec his permission to pursue her. Which he so obviously had.

 

“Logan, I’m sorry.” Max bit her lower lip. More tears spilled from her eyes. “Please don’t hate me.”

 

“I wish I could. I really, really wish I could,” he said with a bitter laugh. “It would make it a hell of a lot easier.” He shrugged. “But I don’t… I can’t. I love you.” Maybe it was a lie and maybe it wasn’t, but just then it was the quickest way to end the conversation before he broke down and wept in front of her like a child.

 

“Don’t hate Alec for this either,” she pleaded.

 

“See, now you’re just asking for the moon, Max. I’m a man, not a saint.”

 

“But it’s not his fault. He didn’t steal me awa-”

 

Logan winced and held up a hand to halt her words. He really didn’t want to hear how she turned to Alec willingly. “It’s no one’s fault Max, ok?” he said to forestall further explanations. “It’s just our crappy luck in love.”

 

She nodded, relieved that he was so understanding. “If you need me, I’m there. You know that, don’t you?”

 

He smiled sadly, unable to refuse her or stop himself. “Same here.”

 

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” she whispered, regret and guilt staining her voice.

 

Logan shrugged fatalistically. Denial was a pointless endeavour now. There was nothing left to protect. “It was an easy lie to believe. You’re different when you’re around him. More like him. Less like me.”

 

It was a question of genetics. Human vs. transgenic… and never the twain shall meet. It was the fundamental flaw in their relationship. And as much as it killed him to admit it, it would have kept them apart even without the virus.

 

He raised his hand as if to cup her cheek and then let it fall, knowing it was a futile gesture.

 

Max bit back a sob. Logan looked so lost and broken and it was all her fault. No matter how hard she tried, all she did was hurt the people who meant the most to her. Would Alec look at her that way one day, with eyes full of pain and betrayal? And if he did, could she survive it?

 

Alec paused in the doorway, a reluctant witness to the tender scene before him. Anger washed through him at the forlorn look in both Max and Logan’s eyes, the way they gazed at each other as if the world held only the two of them. ' _Fuck. Asha was right. Max really is a yo-yo.'_  That was it, he was done with this. No more. He’d help her save the world and then he was gone. Start over somewhere else and try to forget he ever knew a girl named Max. Try to forget she took his heart and used it for a scratching post.

 

He ran a trembling hand through his hair. Closing his eyes he went through the techniques Manticore taught him to control his emotions. He refused to let her know how much it hurt him to see her look at Logan that way. He waited until he was certain his devil-may-care mask wouldn’t slip. “Hey Maxie, you ready to go?”

 

“Yeah. You got our stuff?” A faint note of relief tinged her voice at the thought that soon she’d be on the road with Alec again. She couldn’t help it; she just wanted out of there before their awkward conversation degenerated any further.

 

Alec walked into the office, hefting their bags. “And then some.” He flashed Logan a cocky grin. “You’re gonna need some more groceries.”

 

Logan sighed and shook his head in resignation. “You transgenics. I swear you’re going to eat me out of house and home.” He strived to make the comment light-hearted, but his tone was forced and he kept his eyes downcast.

 

Alec snagged Logan’s phone off the desk and programmed his cell number into it. Then he turned to Max, his expression serious. “You know she’s gonna call as soon as she sees the hack. We can wait.”

 

Max hesitated, sorely tempted, and then shook her head. “There’s no time. I’ll see her when this bitch is over.” She turned to Logan. “Give her my love?”

 

“Of course. Be…” He paused and smiled. “Keep your head down.”

 

Max rolled her eyes playfully. “Yeah, yeah.” She stepped closer to the door. “See ya.”

 

Logan locked eyes with Alec his expression urgent and pleading. “Watch her back.”

 

“I always do,” Alec said, his face blank, his eyes glittering with some nameless emotion. “But not for you.”

 

Logan nodded briefly. He swivelled his chair to face the computer and activated the satellite link, knowing the two transgenics would be gone before he could turn around again. It was easier that way, not to watch her walk out of his life. The sound of his voice filled the room, comforting in its familiarity. If nothing else, he still had this.

 

_“This is an Eyes Only Streaming Freedom video bulletin. This cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced…”_

 

 

~*~

 

 

 _“…it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this country…_ ”

 

Sketchy turned up the volume as the Jam Pony messengers gathered around the TV to listen. Even Normal moved out from behind his counter to join them.

 

_“…This is a message for the X series. You are being mobilized. Report to your units immediately…”_

 

“Mobilized? What the firetruck is that all about?” Normal demanded to know, his eyes locked on the TV screen.

 

Sketchy shrugged. “Dunno, man. But it sounds heavy.” Both men turned to look at OC.

 

She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Original Cindy don’ have a clue what the dealio is. But she knows who does.” She spun on her heel and stalked over to the pay phone.

 

 

~*~

 

 

“Sir?” A thin, shy, bespectacled NSA analyst in a nondescript suit hovered nervously in the doorway of Agent White’s office. It was his turn to report to his volatile superior, a task he dreaded. White was unnerving and unpredictable and the analyst had born the brunt of his temper more than once. A painful experience he feared would be repeated once White heard the latest Intel on the transgenics. The analyst cleared his throat and tried to speak more forcefully. “Sir, you should come see this.”

 

White glanced up from the file he was reading and pinned the analyst with his flat, dead stare. He cocked one eyebrow. The analyst gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat, and shifted his weight awkwardly. His hands twitched at his sides. Too late he remembered to bring his clipboard so he would have something to hold onto. “I think it’s important, sir.”

 

White inclined his head slightly. The relieved analyst took that as a dismissal and scurried away. White allowed a small smile to cross his lips, amused by the man’s obvious fear of him. Humans were so easy to dominate, it almost wasn’t worth the effort. ' _Soon_ ,' he reminded himself. ' _Soon it will come to pass and their pathetic race will no longer sully the planet.'_  His eyes glittered maniacally and his smile became positively chilling.

 

He tossed the file on the desk and sauntered out to the main room. His cheerful mood vanished like a puff of brimstone-laden smoke. The red and blue banners of an Eyes Only broadcast scrolled across the giant screen at the front of the room. The black Manticore symbol was superimposed over the hated Eyes. It pulsed oddly.

 

White nearly choked on his sip of coffee. He clenched his teeth, the muscles in his jaw pulsing as he listened to Eyes Only’s message to the transgenic filth.

 

_“…I repeat, this is a message for the X series. You are being mobilized. Report to your units immediately. This has been a Streaming Freedom video bulletin. Peace. Out.”_

 

' _She knows.'_  Something like fear coursed through White’s veins, if Familiars could be said to experience such a human emotion. He suppressed a howl of rage and flung his cup of coffee straight at Otto’s head. The agent ducked, barely in time, and the cup smashed against the wall. White whirled around. “Someone better have a trace on that,” he announced to the room in general in a cold voice. “And figure out what the hell that flashing means!”

 

The techs bent studiously over their keyboards. White stormed back to his office and slammed his door so hard it bounced open. He kicked it shut and glared at it, daring it to defy him again. His eyes closed and he breathed deeply, gulping in air, as he tried to rein in his rage. Several long minutes later he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Fenes’tol…”

 


	9. Chapter 9

Max and Alec stood in silence on the hill overlooking the Manticore compound. Her feet had automatically steered them here, to the very spot where she watched it burn almost a year ago. It looked harmless in the morning sun. Max was surprised by that; surely so evil a place ought to leave a visible taint, like a bloody handprint. Looking at it now, no one would suspect children were trained to kill here. ' _Renfro was right about that much at least.'_

 

Max shivered as her memories of that night were superimposed over the scene below. Soldiers fleeing into the night, backlit by the lurid orange glow of the flames. Intense heat blistering her skin. Acrid smoke seeping into her clothes, her hair, her lungs, choking her with the smell of burning flesh. The harsh cough of a machine gun punctuating the terrified screams of the dying and the shriek of an air raid siren.

 

The images swam as her eyes filled with unshed tears. She turned away and struggled to control her breathing, willing herself not to cry. She still didn’t know if it was the greatest or the worst thing she ever did. So many died that night, and so many more lived in fear because of it. The transgenics had their freedom now, but at a terrible price. So much of their blood had been spilled; it stained her hands a deep, dark crimson.

 

' _Freedom is never free,'_  she reminded herself. But the words, though true, did nothing to ease the gnawing pangs of guilt.

 

Max glanced at Alec from beneath her wet lashes, and the tears welled up again. He wore his soldier’s face, blank and unemotional, as he stared down at the remnants of his former life. She’d selfishly torched the only home he’d ever known and forced him out into a world she knew would never accept him, without even pausing to consider what he might want. She felt an unexpected stab of remorse. She’d never put him first, not once. Others yes, but never him. And she’d had the temerity to berate HIM for only thinking of himself. She hung her head in shame.

 

Alec could smell her fear and shame. It rolled off her in waves, tainting the air around them. She took so much on herself. Sometimes he wondered how she stood upright under the weight of all the responsibilities she piled on her thin shoulders. He admired that about her, her passionate concern for every last one of their doomed race. But her lack of detachment also weakened her and made her vulnerable when she needed to be strong.

 

Without a word Alec extended his hand. Gratefully Max slipped her small hand inside his larger one and he clasped it tightly, offering her his silent support. He heard her heartbeat slow and her ragged breathing ease. It was quiet moments like this, when she let her trust in him show through her carefully constructed tough-girl persona, that kept him hooked. She needed him to set her back on solid ground when she stumbled. And God help him but he didn’t know how not to be there for her.

 

He couldn’t walk away from her, and he was deluding himself if he thought he could. Not now, and not even when this was all over with. Hell, just this morning after seeing her with Logan he’d resolved to keep his distance from her, to put up his walls and not let her in, and look how long that lasted. Not even two hours. All it took was one sad look from her and he was ready, eager even, to be her punching bag or her pillow or whatever else she’d let him do for her.

 

Max was in his blood. To a large extent she defined him. He didn’t understand it and he couldn’t explain it, it was just the way things were between them. He only wished she sensed it too.

 

He tugged on her hand slightly. She sighed but allowed him to pull her forward. Together they descended the hill and meandered through the ruins. Manticore was a hollow, burnt out shell of its former self. The reinforced concrete walls were heat-blistered and stained with soot. Rubbish littered the ground like drunken sentries. Weeds poked through cracks in the asphalt of the parade ground.

 

The Manticore of their childhood was gone, as if it never was. But what should have been a moment of triumph and elation was somehow… unsettling. They stared at all that remained of their past, deep in thought.

 

Behind and to the left of them, someone cocked a gun.

 

Max dove, dropping her shoulder as she hit the ground, and rolled back to her feet in her combat stance. Alec blurred straight for the source of the sound. Grabbing the barrel of the shotgun, Alec yanked it down and to the side. At the same time he swept his leg out and knocked their assailant’s feet out from under him. Off balance, he tripped over Alec’s leg and went down hard, the gun slipping from his hands as he fell. Alec quickly shifted his grip on the shotgun and was about to slam the butt down on the guy’s skull when recognition kicked in.

 

“Oomph!” Mole exclaimed as he hit the ground with enough force to expel the air from his lungs. He grinned up at Alec, an unrepentant look on his scaly face. “Always wanted to sneak up on an X5.”

 

Alec glared at Mole, but the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. With a rueful shake of his head he offered the lizard-man a hand up. Mole stared pointedly at the shotgun in Alec’s other hand. Alec shrugged and handed over the gun, leaving Mole to pick himself up off the ground. Mole caressed his baby, examining every inch of it to make sure it wasn’t damaged by their little tug-of-war.

 

“Little Fella!” Joshua shouted joyfully as he and Dix emerged from the shadows of the rubble. He scampered towards Max like an overgrown puppy, his long hair streaming out behind him in the breeze. Max threw herself into her brother’s arms. Joshua lifted her off the ground and swung her around in a circle and then set her gently on her feet and held her tight, nuzzling the top of her head. She clung to him, looking like a child next to his massive frame.

 

“Hey Big Fella,” Alec said jovially and slapped his friend on the shoulder.

 

“Medium Fella!” Joshua said happily. He released Max and pulled Alec into a bone-crushing hug.

 

Alec struggled feebly to extricate himself from Joshua’s enthusiastic grip. “Um, buddy? Breathing’s not optional,” he mumbled, his words garbled by the fact that his face was mashed into Joshua’s chest.

 

Joshua laughed and released a red-faced but smiling Alec. “Joshua happy. Family together again.”

 

Max smiled. Joshua was right; they were a family, however odd it might seem for a dog man and two genetically engineered killers to be anything so human as a family. “Yeah,” she agreed, “it’s all good.”

 

“All good,” Joshua echoed.

 

Max slipped one arm around Joshua’s waist and the other around Alec’s, and felt the two men mimic her actions. The three of them stood there in a linked circle, enjoying the rare moment of peace.

 

“Awww, how sweet. I think I’m gonna hurl,” Mole commented gruffly from the sidelines.

 

Alec turned around and held out his arms to Mole. “Does Shnookums need a hug?”

 

Mole snorted and levelled his shotgun at Alec. “Just try it, pretty boy.”

 

Alec pouted. “What’s the matter? Don’cha love me no more?”

 

“Don’t worry, you’re still my favourite. Target, that is,” Mole teased.

 

“Well I still lurve ya. More than White anyway,” Alec replied cheekily.

 

Max rolled her eyes. She’d forgotten that Mole and Alec shared the same warped sense of humour. ' _Great. Like Alec really needs someone to encourage him to behave like a child,'_  she grumbled to herself, not noticing the indulgent smile on her lips. She interrupted the conversation, such as it was, before it could degenerate into name-calling. “You guys sure got here quick. We only sent the message like, 2 hours ago.”

 

“Uh, what message?” Dix asked, confusion written on his face.

 

“The cable hack.”

 

The three transhumans shared a baffled look. “No cable,” Dix explained.

 

“What?! No cable?” Alec pouted. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at a rock, sulking like a little boy who just found out Christmas was cancelled.

 

Max smacked him on the back of the head. “Focus, soldier boy.”

 

“We sent a message courtesy of Mr. Tattle Tale--OUCH!” Alec rubbed the back of his head. Max glared at him, her hands on her hips. Alec wisely retreated out of her reach. “We’ve summoned the troops. Maxie and I got a line on the cult’s freaky-assed plans for world domination.”

 

“So does this mean we get to kick some Familiar butt?” Mole asked, a note of hope creeping into his voice.

 

“Oh yeah,” Alec replied with a wicked grin. The two of them laughed and bumped fists.

 

“So, have you guys been here the whole time?” Max asked Dix, curious.

 

Dix shrugged. “Seemed like the best place to be a freak. Who’d think to look for us here?” He gestured at the burnt-out buildings around them.

 

Max grinned. Alec was right; they’d be safe here until it was time to make their move. She glanced in his direction. He and Mole had wandered off a short distance and were deep in conversation, their faces animated and their hands waving about as they talked. Her grin widened. He was so cute when he was excited. And it was a relief to see him acting like his old cheerful, cocky, annoying self again.

 

He’d been unnaturally quiet during the drive out from Seattle, and that worried her. Alec almost never revealed weakness. If something bothered him, he chattered like a fool to distract himself until he could push it out of his thoughts. Tricks and treats, hiding the darkness within. The only times he was silent was when faced by something too big to sweep under the rug in his mind.

 

He probably thought she didn’t know that about him, but she did. She also knew she’d never get a straight answer out of him if she asked. She shivered, remembering the last time she’d seen him so silent and closed off within himself, the night he drank himself into a stupor after the memories of Rachel resurfaced.

 

Tactics could wait until later; they’d earned the right to just crash with their friends. With one last, longing glance at Alec, Max turned and grabbed Joshua’s hand. “So Big Fella, got any new paintings to show me?”

 

Joshua bobbed his head up and down, his mouth hanging open in a doggy-grin. “Lots and lots!” He took off through the ruins, pulling Max along by the hand. She had to jog to keep pace with him.

 

Alec watched her go with a smile, pleased to see her so relaxed and happy. Then he turned back to Mole and the smile slid from his face as he dropped back into soldier mode. “We need sentries on the perimeter ASAP. Use the X6s. I wanna see a list of our supplies, and I mean everything. Food, clothing, blankets, medical supplies, weapons and ammo, armour, surveillance equipment…the whole nine yards. Plus, we need to know what buildings are safe for habitation.”

 

“Got it,” Mole grunted and threw Alec a mock-salute.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Ames White stared up at the dusk sky with a reverent expression on his normally sardonic face. He couldn’t see them yet – the sun was still too bright – but he knew they were there. A small bluish-white orb low on the horizon, and a larger red one higher up. Before long an even larger yellow one would join them. ' _Soon.'_  He raised his glass to the heavens, the ice clinking softly, and took a long sip. Ice water; an appropriate, though somewhat plebeian, toast.

 

He heard the swish of Otto’s footsteps through the long grass but didn’t bother turning to greet his subordinate.

 

Otto regarded his superior’s back with some trepidation as he approached to report on the day’s events. White made a phone call shortly after the cable hack aired and then vanished for the rest of the day without a word. That bothered Otto, more than it should. They didn’t really need White on site to run the operation, or what was left of it, but it was never a good feeling to think your supervisor might have his own private agenda. More than one promising career in the NSA had been prematurely shortened that way.

 

Otto privately hoped the operation would be disbanded soon. By their estimates they’d contained two-thirds of the transhumans. As for the human-looking X series, he had his doubts they would ever track down half that many, even with the help of the thermal scanners. They were trained to disappear in enemy territory. Hadn’t the infamous twelve proven that by successfully evading capture for over a decade, while they were still only children?

 

Well, he for one would be glad of a new assignment. Something far from Ames White and his mysterious phone calls and his fanatical disdain for almost everyone and everything.

 

Otto carefully ironed out his expression and pushed his niggling doubts and vague suspicions to the back of his mind. White was not going to be a happy agent when he heard Otto’s report. He got right to the point, wasting no time on idle chit chat; he knew how much that annoyed White. “Sir, we were too late to secure a trace on the cable hack. But we’ve narrowed it down to Sector 3. We’ll be ready for him next time.”

 

White ground his teeth in audible frustration. Eyes Only and 452 were the last to see his son alive but they were both so damned elusive. He nodded curtly for Otto to continue with his report, never taking his eyes off the darkening sky.

 

“The flashing Manticore symbol…it spelled out 9-4-6 in Morse code.” Otto frowned. He couldn’t puzzle out why the transgenics used Morse code. He knew for a fact that Manticore had developed several sophisticated encryption systems, so why entrust a secret message to an antiquated code known to every former Boy Scout in the country? Not to mention every aviator and seaman.

 

He noticed the muscle ticking in White’s clenched jaw and pressed on with his report. “The techs have been at it all day but so far we haven’t managed to crack it. Our best guess is that it’s some sort of geographical marker, but we can’t come up with a viable location.”

 

White let out the long-suffering sigh of a man surrounded by incompetence. “Containing the transgenic threat is this government’s highest priority,” he said in a deceptively conversational tone of voice. “I was assured that only the best and the brightest the NSA had to offer would be assigned to this team. But apparently none of you can add a three-digit number.” He whipped his head around to pin Otto with his flat, unblinking stare. “What’s 452 plus 494?”

 

Otto swallowed noisily. His eyes flickered as he rapidly added the two numbers together. “Um, 946.”

 

White smiled sourly. “Very good Otto.” He turned his attention back to the heavens. The first stars were just becoming visible. “It’s a virtual signature, nothing more. The fact that it’s so simple proves it’s authentic. If we’d faked that message, the techs would’ve come up with something much more complicated than Morse code.”

 

Otto nodded morosely, embarrassed that he and a roomful of analysts had spent the day chasing shadows.

 

“Say goodnight Otto,” White said with finality.

 

“Goodnight sir,” Otto replied as he turned on his heel, grateful for the dismissal.

 

White stared unmoving at the heavens long after the sound of Otto’s footsteps faded away. So his two favourite transgenics were gathering together their tribe of mutant, sideshow freaks for one last stand. ' _Clever animal,'_  he thought grudgingly, ' _She’s learning. But not fast enough.'_  His time, the Familiars’ time, was fast approaching. Even if the runes told her what was going to happen and when, she couldn’t possibly know HOW, since Sandeman himself hadn’t. And given the learning curve she’d displayed so far, there wasn’t enough time left for her to figure it out.

 

Still, he couldn’t shake the vague sense of disquiet that surged through his veins at the thought that somehow 452 might yet pull a rabbit out of her hat and foil 5,000 years of planning.

 

He kept his gaze firmly fixed on the stars. ' _No. We WILL win. Our time is coming.'_

 

 

~*~

 

 

Max roamed the broken compound, her cat’s eyes probing the shadows for any sign of Alec. He’d slipped away from the group when he thought she wasn’t watching. At first she was more than happy to let him take a break from his duties as Court Jester. But then ten minutes turned into an hour with still no Alec. A vague sense of worry pricked at her until she gave up and went in search of him.

 

The longer it took to find him, the more concerned she got. Something was off with him earlier, and this unusual vanishing act just intensified her sense of foreboding.

 

She hated having to worry about others, especially him, because it gave the universe too much power to ruin her life. So she tried to fall back on her old irate antagonism towards him – this time for sending her out into the night to chase him down when most likely all she’d get for her troubles was a patently false “I’m always alright” when she finally did manage to corner him. But it was like pulling a favourite shirt out of the back of the closet only to discover it had shrunk in the wash; those feelings just didn’t fit anymore. Cold fear kept dousing the heat of her anger.

 

Max rounded a corner and there he was, predictably not far from her starting point. ' _I knew I shoulda gone left instead of right,'_  she thought wryly. She headed towards his position with a smile that quickly died on her lips. Alec should have been aware of her, should have turned and greeted her with that wicked smirk only he could get away with and a sarcastic comment about her missing his fine-looking ass. Should’ve, but didn’t. He was standing almost at attention, his back rigid and tense, his hands clenching and unclenching as he stared at one unimposing building in particular.

 

' _Psy_ _Ops,'_  she guessed, knowing nothing else would have the power to leave him so transfixed. Alec was locked in his thoughts, oblivious to her presence. As she got closer, she could smell the fear on him beneath the adrenaline. He was shivering slightly, both in rage and fear.

 

A sense of fierce protectiveness surged through her. She had to swallow hard past the lump in her throat. She wished she had the power to resurrect Renfro so she could kill the cold-hearted bitch all over again. Alec didn’t deserve what had been done to him here, genetically enhanced assassin or not. He didn’t deserve to be punished for mistakes that were anything but wrong, much less for mistakes HE hadn’t even made. Her strong, indestructible, unfazable Alec didn’t deserve to be made to fear an empty, burnt-out shell of a building. It wasn’t fair; it wasn’t right.

 

Her hands curled into tiny fists. She wanted to rip Manticore apart with her bare hands, brick by brick, until there was nothing left. She wanted to hunt down the scientists, the doctors, the guards, and make them SEE the damage they’d inflicted on such a beautiful soul. Inflict a little damage of her own in return.

 

' _Never again,_  she vowed. She would not let anyone hurt him like that again.

 

Max deliberately kicked a rock and sent it skidding across the quad. It was never wise to startle an X5; fatal accidents had been known to happen when instinct kicked in before training or rational thought. His head snapped up at the sudden noise and he whirled around to face her. “Rachel…” he whispered.

 

For the second time in her life, Max felt like a freight train collided with her heart. Only this time, she thought Alec’s words might succeed where her clone’s bullet failed. She didn’t know which hurt more; the fact that he called her Rachel or the look in his eyes when he said it. With a wild, agonizing, desperate hope. With anger and pain and guilt and shame. ' _And love. Don’t forget love,'_  she thought bitterly.

 

Max closed her eyes reflexively, and when she opened them again it was all gone, just wiped away. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. His face was cold, so cold. There was nothing of Alec in his expression, only the soldier 494. And somehow that was worse.

 

He tilted his head to the side, studying the shadowy figure before him with the long brown hair. “Max?” he whispered uncertainly, and his voice was so empty it sent ice water rushing through her veins. He watched her with eyes haunted by remembered fear and pain. ‘ _Why?’_  his eyes screamed at her,  _‘what did I do wrong?’_  He radiated pain and confusion, but his lips remained clamped shut. He would never ask for what he needed, never admit to pain or fear or weakness.

 

She took a deep breath and forced her rage and hurt aside. She had to pull him out of himself, out of his memories, and anger wasn’t the best tool for that. “This place creeps me out,” she half-lied. It did, but not to the extent it obviously bothered him.

 

Instantly he held out his arms, offering her the comfort he desperately needed but wouldn’t ask for himself. She burrowed into his embrace. He held her tenderly and stroked her long hair with one hand, but his body was stiff and tight and his eyes had a far-away look in them, like he wasn’t really seeing her at all. His heart thumped erratically in her ear. She hugged him fiercely, her arms wrapped so tightly around him a normal man would have broken ribs.

 

He leaned into her then and buried his face in the crook of her neck. His breath was ragged against her skin. “Oh Alec,” she murmured brokenly and then trailed off, not sure how to say what she needed to. Any sign of pity from her and he would push her away. She wished she knew the secret to take away his pain the way he always eased hers.

 

She winced, remembering her futile attempt to comfort him when Rachel died. He’d brushed her off, clearly amused by her offer to be there for him. And she just let him walk away, because it was easier to believe the lie – that he was ‘always alright’ – than it was to accept she’d been such a bitch to him that he’d rather suffer alone than open up to her.

 

She wanted to turn and bolt for the safety of the shadows, and if she were anywhere else on Earth she probably would have. But the guilt and shame that had been swirling around in her all day – because of this place – robbed her of the ability to run away. She’d failed him so many times already.

 

But not this time. His pain mattered, HE mattered, too much to screw this up and she’d be damned if she wouldn’t be there for him this time. For one brief moment she wished she was Rachel, knowing the smallest smile from HER would be enough to fix Alec. Max shook the thought away. She wasn’t Rachel, she was just Max, and tonight that would have to be enough. ' _Like the song says, love the one you’re with, right?'_

 

She slid her hands inside his leather jacket and under his t-shirt and drew idle circles on the warm skin of his back. Touch always soothed her when she felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin, and she could only hope it would work for him too.

 

He cupped her face, the tips of his fingers tracing the contours of her cheek and jaw. Her heart bled for him at the way his hands trembled. He stared deeply into her eyes, unmoving and unblinking. “Max?” he whispered again, and then suddenly his lips crashed down on hers. There was a desperation to that kiss that brought a lump to her throat. He inhaled her, as if he were trying to suck her inside of him to fill the void within. It wasn’t about love, or even lust. It was about fear and pain and the need to prove that he, and she, were solid and real and alive.

 

She willingly surrendered herself to him, desperately hoping she would be enough to pull him out of the hole he was drowning in. Abruptly he broke off the kiss and pulled back just enough so that their bodies weren’t touching. Max felt bereft without his warmth against her.

 

Alec stared hungrily at her, his hazel eyes dark but no longer haunted. “I don’t want to be alone tonight Max,” he said hoarsely, “I want to be with you.” He didn’t want to talk about Rachel or Psy Ops, and for once he didn’t want to drink to forget. He just wanted to be with Max and feel alive again. But he didn’t want her to be with him out of pity, or even worse, to feel like he was using her as a substitute. He forced himself to stay still and give her the space to step away if this wasn’t what she wanted, but unconsciously his thumb caressed her cheek as he waited for her to make the decision for both of them. “Just you,” he whispered.

 

Max’s heart hammered painfully against her ribs. Alec was looking AT her, not THROUGH her, and he was letting her in if she wanted it. She leaned into his gentle touch. Rachel was just a memory; she was here and now and he wanted - needed - HER. She smiled and kissed him softly in reply.

 

Alec fisted one hand in her hair and dropped the other to her hip. Pulling her flush against him, he deepened the kiss. Max leaned into him, her own arms wrapped tightly around him, and opened her mouth to his probing tongue. He dived in and explored every crevice of her warm mouth, his tongue duelling with hers as he devoured her. She moaned softly against his lips. Her senses were on overload already just from that tantalizing kiss. Alec was made for kissing, and she was dizzy with the sensations he provoked in her with just his soft lips and devilish tongue.

 

She wanted to feel his skin, warm and soft and velvet under her hands. She wanted his hands on her. She tugged at his jacket, the leather bunching beneath her small hands. He shrugged it off and let it fall to the ground and then yanked off his t-shirt too. She grinned and licked her lips. He caught her hands when she reached for him and she pouted at being thwarted.

 

He laughed, a deep, sexy rumble in his chest that made her insides tighten deliciously. Raising her arms straight above her head, he trailed his fingertips down the inside of her arms and over her ribs to her waist. Snagging the bottom of her shirt, he reversed his path and pulled her top up and over her head.

 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a deep kiss. He kissed her back hard, his lips almost bruising, and then left her mouth to trail kisses along her jaw line to the sensitive skin behind her earlobe. He nibbled and sucked on her neck, marking the delicate skin there. Purring with pleasure she arched her back and tilted her head backwards, exposing the long column of her throat.

 

He dropped his head to her breasts and suckled one pert nipple through the thin lace of her bra. She moaned softly at the feel of his warm, wet mouth on her heated skin, the lace pleasantly rough against her nipple. He undid the clasp and dropped her bra onto the growing pile of clothes at their feet, and then slid his hands around her ribs to cup the sides of her breasts. He took one taut bud in his mouth, licking and sucking and tugging on it while his fingers teased the other. She gasped for air. She felt like she was on fire, and every tug on her nipples sent an electric current coursing straight down to her centre.

 

She reached down between their bodies and brushed her palm against the bulge of his erection. He groaned at the contact, his hips bucking against her hand. She squeezed him through his jeans with one small hand while the other tugged at his belt buckle with clumsy and impatient fingers.

 

He lowered her to the ground then and covered her with his body. She slid her hands down his back to his waist, her nails lightly scraping the skin. Her fingers brushed against the cool metal of the Glock tucked in the waistband of his jeans. She grimaced in distaste and yanked it out of his jeans and was about to toss the offensive object aside when his hand closed over hers. He pulled the gun from her grasp and laid it gently on the ground beside them, where his hand could find it in the dark if he needed it. She hated that his training was so thoroughly a part of him that he couldn’t forget he was a soldier even when he so desperately needed to.

 

She forced the gun from her mind and nipped his lower lip with her sharp, white teeth and was rewarded by a low growl of pleasure from him. He raised himself to his knees and crawled down her body, planting kisses from her collarbone to her navel as he went. He sat back on his heels and propped her feet on his leg so he could unlace her boots, and tossed them carelessly over his shoulder as he pulled them off. She giggled. His hands moved to the zipper of her jeans and she obligingly raised her hips so he could ease her pants down her legs. He pulled her underwear off too, and then stood and kicked off his boots and shimmied out of his jeans and boxers.

 

He knelt between her legs, his hands brushing the skin of her inner thighs, but she sat up and reached for him impatiently. She captured his lips with hers and then dropped her weight backwards, bringing him down on top of her. “Alec,” she murmured breathily as the tip of his erection brushed against her centre. She ground her hips against his. He growled low in his throat and tightened his hold on her.

 

He wanted nothing more than to bury himself in her right then but he pulled his head back far enough to look at her, a question in his eyes, needing to know for certain that she wanted, needed, this too. A smile danced on her lips and she watched him with eyes that were almost black with desire. “Please Alec,” she moaned beseechingly and shifted her hips again even as she pulled his head down for another deep kiss.

 

He groaned against her lips. Shifting his weight, he slowly sank into her warm passage. She let a small gasping moan of pleasure as he filled her. He pulled out almost completely and then buried his full length in her again, and she wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him in even deeper.

 

He plunged into her with long slow strokes. She moaned and dug her nails into his broad shoulders, her hips countering each of his thrusts. Their bodies instinctively moved together in a timeless rhythm. Her small whimpers urged him to go faster and he obliged, each thrust of his hips coming harder and faster than the last until he was driving into her relentlessly, his hips moving so fast they were almost a blur and it was all she could do to cling to him. The movement of his hips and his mouth on hers were pushing her so high she thought she might burst through her skin. Her head spun dizzily and her entire body quivered. She gasped his name into his mouth, over and over.  
  


He felt her inner walls clench and flutter around him and he thrust harder, pushing her towards the abyss. She flung her head back and screamed his name aloud as she fell over the edge, her hands clutching at his back, her nails raking his skin. The slight pain spurred him on. He slammed into her once, twice more and then groaned her name as he exploded, his seed pumping into her as her walls milked him. He collapsed on top of her, utterly spent.

 

Alec waited until his heartbeat slowed and then reluctantly moved to roll off her. Max clutched at his arms to hold him still. “No don’t. I like your weight on me,” she murmured in his ear.

 

“But I’m too heavy,” he protested half-heartedly, not really wanting to move. He felt safe lying there with her. Almost at peace. It was a strange but pleasant experience for him.

 

She laughed softly. “I’m not made of glass, ya know.”

 

Her dark eyes sparkled merrily up at him, and her soft body was so inviting. Alec gave into the impulse and eased his weight back down over her and laid his head against her shoulder. Max wrapped one arm firmly around his waist and slid the other up his spine to the hair at the nape of his neck. He’d grown his hair out long enough to cover his barcode and now it curled up slightly at the ends. The rakish look suited him, though she suspected he knew that. She certainly wasn’t the first girl to think so, judging by the admiring looks tossed his way wherever they went.

 

Max twined the silky strands around her fingers, her hand brushing against his barcode. He relaxed into her touch like a big tomcat, and as his breathing became deep and even, a feeling of contentment stole over her. He wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, but at least he trusted her enough to let her see his pain, and for Alec, that was a huge step.

 

Max played with his hair and stared wide-eyed at the stars, awed by the hundreds of bright, clear lights sprinkled across the inky darkness. As a child, she and Jondy would perch for hours on the windowsill of their barracks and watch the stars and wish for a life beyond the perimeter fence. After the escape Max hardly ever saw the stars through the smog that hung over the cities she hid herself in. She’d taken to watching the city lights instead, but wishing on the first light bulb to come on after a brown-out just wasn’t the same as wishing on the first star in the night sky.

 

As she watched the stars for the first time in years, she couldn’t help but think of Jondy and wonder if her big sister was thinking of her too. She missed all her siblings terribly, but part of her was glad none of them had turned up in Seattle looking for her. At least far away from her they were safe from White. She couldn’t bear to lose anymore of her family. Her hands tightened reflexively around Alec at the thought.

 

A sudden gust of wind made Alec shiver as the cool air slid over his bare back. He sleepily nuzzled her neck, his lips soft against her skin. “I’m cold. You cold?”

 

Max giggled and squirmed a little beneath him. “Nope. I got me a nice, warm Alec-blanket.”

 

“Hmph. Yeah, well, I’M getting goose bumps in uncomfortable places,” he grumbled.

 

“Awww, you poor baby,” she teased. She used her hip for leverage and rolled him off her and onto his back. He pouted but Max just laughed and reached for her clothes. Alec lay sprawled on his back and watched her, unconcerned by the fact that he was naked for all the world to see. Max secretly admired that about him. She wished she were as comfortable in her own skin. The thought of Mole – or worse yet, Joshua – seeing her and Alec in a naked tangle of limbs made her queasy and self-conscious.

 

“C’mon, lazybones. Joshua found us a bed. Or do you really prefer gravel burn?” she teased, hoping to prod him into moving before Joshua took it into his head to come looking for his friends.

 

Alec froze at her casual use of the plural ‘us’ and the singular ‘bed’. His eyes snapped to her face but she’d turned away to reach for her discarded top and didn’t notice. ' _Whoa there, cowboy.'_  He reined in his hopes before it could gallop away with him. It didn’t have to mean anything. The fire hadn’t left much in the way of choice accommodations around here, and it wouldn’t be the first time they’d slept in the same bed since fleeing Seattle; most of the dingy hovels that passed for motels in this broken country only boasted one mattress per room. And given Max’s shark DNA, and his lack of same, they’d not likely be spending much time together in whatever sleeping arrangements Joshua had scrounged up for them. Right?

 

Max tossed his t-shirt at his face, knocking that train of thought out of his head. Alec kept a watchful eye on Max as he dressed. He kept waiting for the yelling, hitting, blaming, and crying to commence. The only thing was, Max didn’t seem angry at all about what just happened. In fact, she bore a striking resemblance to a cat that just got into the catnip. She was actually smiling instead of hitting him, which meant that her reaction this morning wasn’t an aberration but the start of a trend. Alec wasn’t about to argue with any situation that involved him, Max, and hot monkey lovin’, but it did throw him off his game somewhat.

 

Dozens of sarcastic comments buzzed in his brain, but there was a very real possibility that cracking a joke right now would herald the return of bitchy Max, and Alec liked seeing her so happy. Particularly over something he did. So for once, he opted for discretion and kept his mouth shut.

 

He pulled his t-shirt over his head and hissed softly as the fabric snagged on his sore back. Concerned, Max rushed to his side and flipped up the back of his t-shirt and exposed the eight deep gouges that started at his shoulders and disappeared into his jeans. Max stared speechless at the marks she didn’t remember making, her mouth hanging open in a small ‘o’ of surprise.

 

Alec couldn’t help himself; the look on her face was too much. He cocked an eyebrow and said in his sexiest tone, “You’ve got sharp claws, vixen.”

 

Max reached out to touch him with one trembling hand and then pulled back before making contact. She stared up at him with soft, apologetic eyes. “Oh my god, Alec. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ll never, ever, ever do that again, I promise.”

 

All humour drained from Alec’s face. “No wait! I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” he protested, wide-eyed.

 

Max rolled her eyes and smiled. “You are sooo easy to play sometimes Alec.”

 

Alec suppressed a grin. So Max wanted to play, did she? He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “I know how hard it is for you to resist me. I wouldn’t want you to feel like you have to hold yourself back. It’s not healthy.”

 

Max glared at Alec. Unable to think of a snappy comeback, she decided to go for the unexpected. She grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt and pulled him in for a quick kiss. “Shut up,” she whispered against his lips.

 

Alec stared at her for half a second, then shrugged and closed his mouth. Max laughed to herself. ' _If I’d known it was that easy to shut him up, I’da tried that a long time ago,'_  she thought ruefully. She slid her hand down his arm and laced her fingers through his. “C’mon. I’m tired and I want my bed. Unlike you, I haven’t slept in two days.”

 

Alec snagged his jacket and gun off the ground and obediently followed in her wake. He dropped his gaze to their clasped hands. He loved touching her like this, but even more he loved the fact that she wanted to touch him too. He gently rubbed his thumb across the soft skin of her hand. ' _It must kill Logan not to be able to touch her. No wonder he acts like he’s got a stick the size of Texas shoved up his ass.'_  Alec ran a hand through his hair. There was that pesky sense of guilt again.

 

Max led the way to the medical wing and headed straight to one of the doctor’s offices. Alec eyed their new living quarters with approval. The office furniture had been removed and a mattress with a couple of army-issue blankets now occupied the middle of the room. It wasn’t a five-star hotel but he’d slept in worse and it was better than the barracks. At least the bed was big enough for him and Max to share. Plus, there was a private bathroom for the medical staff at the end of the hall, so they wouldn’t have to shower with the troops.

 

Alec quickly stripped down to his boxers and flopped down onto the bed. Max rummaged through her bag for her pyjamas – an old tank top and a pair of boxers she’d stolen off Alec. Her eyes darted around the small room and then back to where Alec lay on the bed watching her. “Alec,” she said loudly, her voice tinged with exasperation.

 

“What?”

 

“I’m not putting on a show here.”

 

His brow crinkled in confusion. “Huh?”

 

She rolled her eyes. ' _Are men born without tact or is it one of the side effects of puberty?'_  “Turn around so I can change,” she ordered.

 

His eyebrows rose in disbelief. “Why? I’ve already seen you naked.”

 

“Alec!” Max barely resisted the urge to stamp her foot.

 

“Fine, whatever,” Alec grumbled as he rolled onto his stomach. He pillowed his chin on his crossed forearms. “You’ve been around humans too long if you’re ashamed of your body, Max. You’re perfect.”

 

“I’m not ashamed,” Max protested, her voice slightly muffled as she pulled her top over her head. “I just don’t like guys staring at me like I’m a stripper or something. Besides,” she said as she crawled onto the mattress and stretched out on her side next to Alec, “I’m not perfect.”

 

Alec rolled onto his side. He ran one hand up her arm and over her shoulder to her neck, his fingers skimming her skin with a light touch that made her shiver. He cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes, his own dark with some nameless emotion. “Yeah you are, Max,” he said huskily. “You’re perfect.”

 

Her stomach dropped. The thought that she was perfect in Alec’s eyes frightened her and made her feel safe at the same time. She dropped her gaze and smiled bashfully. “You’re perfect too,” she whispered, hardly daring to push the words past her lips. She sucked at telling people how much they meant to her; it always came out wrong.

 

Alec shrugged off the compliment, knowing Max didn’t really mean anything by it. “Think of the beautiful babies we’d make,” he joked.

 

Max tore herself from his arms and sat up, her heart thudding in her chest. She covered her panic by reaching for the blankets at the foot of the bed. Rationally she knew Alec was only joking, but the thought of being a mom frankly terrified her. She could barely take care of herself; how could someone as messed up as her look after a baby?

 

Alec bit his lower lip. He didn’t know why he brought it up. He knew Max wouldn’t be thrilled by the thought of him fathering a child on her. If she ever had a baby she’d want it to be withLogan, and no doubt he’d talk her into the whole package including marriage, a dog, a minivan, and a white picket fence. Alec rolled his eyes. The idea of any transgenic, particularly Max, living the American Dream in suburbia was just plain ridiculous.

 

Max unfolded the blanket and spread it over them with a flick of her wrist. She laid down beside Alec and snuggled her back against his chest. “Night Alec,” she murmured sleepily. Alec hesitated for half a second and then curved his body around hers and planted a kiss in her hair. “Sweet dreams Max.” This was better than nothing. And maybe, just maybe, with enough time and extremely good luck, he could make her forget Logan. ' _Hey, if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with. Right?'_

 

 

~*~

 

 

Alec woke to find Max already gone from his bed. He growled in frustration and rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. One of these mornings he’d like to wake up with Max still in his arms. It figured. For just the second time in his life he found a woman he actually wanted to stay the night with, and she never slept long enough to be there when he woke up. Idly he wondered if it was too late to retrofit him with a little shark DNA of his own, so at least they’d be on the same sleep schedule. But then again, he loved sleeping in too much to do without it. Knowing when he woke up in the morning that he could stay in bed as long as he wanted was one of the things he liked best about life outside Manticore.

 

He sighed heavily and heaved himself out of bed. Grabbing clean clothes from his bag, he padded down the hall to the showers. He was pleasantly surprised to find the hot water actually worked. He grinned to himself as the water cascaded over his naked body. Some morning soon he’d have to convince Max to take a long, hot, soapy shower with him. His eyes slid shut as he imagined Max soaping every inch of his body as he did the same to hers. He groaned aloud and flipped the dial to cold for the rest of his shower.

 

He rinsed, dried off, and dressed in record time and then headed for the mess hall as the most likely place to find Max. He needed to see her to know if there was any chance in this lifetime they’d be taking that shower together. As he passed one of the barracks his ears picked up the sound of excited teenage voices. Apparently a contingent of X6s had arrived during the night. Alec made a mental note to tell Mole to start a census; they’d need to know exactly who made up their strike team and what their specialties were.

 

Alec paused just outside the mess hall doors to take a deep breath and steeled himself to face whatever Max’s reaction might be to their nocturnal activities. For all he knew she might have done a complete 180 since last night. It wouldn’t be the first time; the girl took mood swings to a whole new level.

 

Alec slapped on his trademark grin and sauntered in like he hadn’t a care in the world. Max, Joshua, and Mole were pouring over blueprints of the facility at one of the large tables. Dix was no where in sight. ' _Probably busy playing peek-a-boo with the runes,'_  he guessed.

 

“Well look who finally decided to haul his lazy ass outta bed,” Max said with a grin.

 

Alec glanced at his watch; it wasn’t even 7:00 a.m. yet, which was early for him considering there was no annoying kid playing Taps and no TAC leader shouting in his ear. He shrugged. “Admit it.  You just wanna stare at my ass.”

 

“Stare at it? No. Spank it, maybe.” Max’s eyes went wide as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She could feel her face turning red. ' _Ohmygod_ _, did I just say ‘spank’? I meant ‘kick’, ‘KICK’ damn it!'_

 

Alec chuckled and smirked naughtily. “I’ve been a baaad boy,” he agreed in a low, deep voice.

 

Max thought she might die of mortification. Joshua clearly didn’t understand, for which she’d be eternally grateful, but Mole wasn’t even attempting to hide his amusement. He grinned hugely around his cigar.

 

“Yeah, whatever. Just shut up,” she muttered and tried to hide her flaming face behind her hair without being too obvious about it. “Joshua and I are gonna go search the ruins for anything salvageable that might come in handy. Set up a perimeter using the X6s as sentries,” she ordered. “Think you and Mole can handle that or do I hafta do everything myself?”

 

Mole opened his mouth to speak but Alec signalled for him to be silent. “Sure thing, Max.”

 

She nodded, her eyes on her feet, and left the mess hall with Joshua trailing behind.

 

Mole turned to Alec with a disgruntled expression on his scaly face. “What the hell does she think we were doing yesterday? Catching up on gossip?” He snorted at the idea of him gossiping with anyone. “What a Norm,” he muttered under his breath, forgetting how sensitive X5 hearing was.

 

Alec blurred forward and locked his hand around Mole’s throat, his eyes cold and deadly. Mole went still as stone and didn’t even attempt to free himself. “Don’t. Ever. Call. Her. That. Again.” Alec hissed through clenched teeth.

 

Mole nodded and after several seconds Alec released his hold. Mole brought one hand up to rub his sore throat; Alec had quite a grip and he wasn’t even half trying. “I’m going to check on the sentries. Start a census of who’s here and what their specialities are,” Alec ordered and then spun on his heel and stalked off.

 

“She’s no good at this,” Mole said to Alec’s back. He waved his hand to indicate Manticore and everything it stood for.

 

“She doesn’t have to be. She’s still our leader,” Alec said over his shoulder. “You have a problem with her orders, you come to me. Privately.”

 

Mole nodded, oddly satisfied, and stooped to pick up his fallen cigar.

 


	10. Chapter 10

_Moonlight spilled through open windows, turning the corridors of Manticore into a maze of light and shadow. It leeched away all colour until the world was an indistinct featureless grey. Even sounds seemed muffled by the gloom._

_Max crept down the endless grey corridors on silent feet, instinctively hiding in the shadows that lined the walls. Her body hummed with tension and her senses strained to their genetically-enhanced limits._

_She placed each foot with squeamish care, skirting the puddles and rivulets of blood. Thick patches of blood stained the floor at irregular intervals, leading her onwards like some macabre version of Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs. So much blood – it gleamed darkly in the moonlight. The scent of it permeated the air, cloying and sweet, and she tasted it in the back of her throat with every breath._

_The body of a single X-series soldier lay slumped in the doorway to the DNA lab. It was the first corpse she’d seen; all the rest had vanished along with their killers. Max clenched her fists against the anger churning through her veins. Even in death the transgenics were allowed no dignity, doomed to mistreatment in the name of Science._

_Max knelt beside the body, her hand brushing over his military buzz cut. He was dressed in grey cami pants and black combat boots; his t-shirt was white beneath the scarlet blood stain. A metal knife jutted from his back like an accusatory finger. She slid it free. Blood oozed from the wound, thick and black. Her fingers curled around the hilt; the weight of it felt strangely familiar in her hand._

_Max scanned the corridor, but it stretched empty and silent in both directions as far as she could see. The moon slipped behind a thick bank of clouds, plunging Manticore into darkness. Max glanced down at the dead boy. His head was turned away from her, his face obscured by shadow._

_Just another nameless, dead transgenic._

_“I’m sorry I didn’t save you,” she whispered, eyes downcast. “I never meant for any of this to happen. I just wanted to be free.” But even as she said it she knew it did no good. He was dead just the same, whether she was sorry or not._

_Max rose and stepped over the body and into the lab, slipping soundlessly through the half-open door. Two figures in black body armour – one male, one female – stood with their backs to her, staring impassively at the transgenic at their feet. Joshua was slumped against the stainless steel lab bench, his long legs folded under him as if he were on his knees praying in the final few seconds before they put a bullet between his eyes. A thin trickle of blood trailed down his nose to his jaw, a scarlet line across those canine features that marked him as special. Unique. First._

_She was too late; always too late. Rage consumed her, white-hot and savage. It turned the world into a haze of red. Max bared her teeth in a soundless howl and pounced on the nearest target. She coiled her fingers in the female’s ebony curls and yanked her head backwards, exposing the long column of her throat. The blade glinted in the moonlight just before Max slashed it across her tender flesh._

_Original Cindy spun jerkily to face Max. Blood gushed over her slim brown fingers as she tried desperately to staunch the flood. Her wrists were manacled together by heavy chains, the soft skin rubbed raw where the bracelets chafed. “Boo?” she whispered hoarsely. “Ya were s’posed ta save us Boo.” She coughed wetly, blood oozing from her mouth to stain her lips, and then collapsed to the floor, her limbs flailing bonelessly._

_The knife fell from Max’s nerveless fingers and clattered to the floor with an echoing thunk. Cold horror welled up inside her. Her limbs were suddenly too heavy to move, and she forgot how to breathe. Her friend’s life-blood stained the floor crimson. It crept towards Max’s feet, long thin tentacles of blood reaching out to claim her._

_Movement on the periphery of her vision snapped her out of her stupor. Blind rage replaced the horror that held Max transfixed. She snarled and lashed out at the black-clad figure and landed a kick that might have broken his leg if he hadn’t dodged sideways at the last second. Enraged, she jabbed at his head with both fists, eager to feel the crunch of bone under her knuckles. He blocked her attacks easily and then called her by name._

_The sound of her name when always before they’d mocked her with her designation goaded Max beyond endurance. She grabbed his outstretched arm and spun him around, using his momentum to twist his arm behind his back. She hooked her leg around his to immobilize him and applied enough pressure to his arm to force him off balance. Any attempt to break her hold would dislocate his arm._

_“Max!” he called again, desperation in his voice._

_She growled low in her throat and pushed painfully on his arm. She had no pity left in her, and no compassion. Calmly she seized the back of his neck with her free hand and snapped his spinal cord with a single, sharp twist of her wrist._

_He slumped forward and his visored helmet slipped off his head. Max let him twist in her grasp as he fell so that he landed heavily on his back._

_Hazel eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling. The strong line of his jaw and cheekbone – as familiar as her own – was now slack in death._

_Max’s knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor next to Alec’s lifeless body as if felled by an axe. Hot tears scorched her cheeks and watered her trembling hands where they cupped his face. A scream was torn from her throat, an endless, horrified wail that she was helpless to stop._

 

 

The sound of her screams jolted her back to consciousness.

 

Max flung herself upright. Her fingers clutched spasmodically at the blankets pooling in her lap. She gulped for air, unable to catch her breath. In her mind’s eye she watched her friends die, one horrific image after another flashing to the rhythm of her racing heart.

 

Alec’s strong, safe arms wrapped around her. Max turned and buried her face in his chest, her hands clutching at his broad shoulders. Hot tears leaked from beneath her lashes to wash his bare skin. Sobs shook her thin frame.

 

Alec eased back down onto the bed, Max cocooned in his embrace. His warmth and nearness anchored her to reality. “It was a dream, Max. A dream. I’m here, you’re safe,” he murmured over and over as he stroked her long hair, his fingers gently smoothing the tangles.

 

Her trembling slowed and eventually stopped. Her nightmare receded back into her subconscious, the images fading under his gentle ministrations. Max was exhausted, too weary even to lift her head, but in his arms she felt a sense of safety and belongingness she hadn’t experienced since she was a child.

 

She’d had a nightmare at Logan’s once, back in the days when they could touch. He was kind and gentle, but he touched her as if he was afraid she would shatter if he applied too much pressure, like a brittle china doll. And he told her not to think of it anymore, that it was all in the past and couldn’t hurt her now. But he was wrong. Dreams could hurt you only the wounds left no mark. And it wasn’t in the past; it was in HER, and all transgenics. No matter how far they ran or how hard they tried to be normal, the darkness within would always be waiting for an unguarded moment.

 

Alec understood that and he never, ever asked her to be perfect. Because he was just as flawed as she was. Only sometimes it seemed to her like he dealt with his flaws better than she did. He made people laugh; she just lashed out at them.

 

“Alec?” she asked softly, her fingers tracing idle patterns on his chest. “Why are you so good to me?”

 

' _Because I love you, Max. Why can’t you see that?'_  Alec shrugged nonchalantly. “So I’m just s’posed to ignore the girl in my bed screaming bloody blue murder? Yeah, right. I need my sleep. And my hearing. Besides, chicks really dig the sensitive guy crap. Usually ends in having sex. Course, ya can’t hardly blame ’em, I’m a damn fine lookin’ man. Specially my ass, right Maxie?” Alec waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

 

Max rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “I’m serious, you jerk!” she complained, but her voice lacked its usual bite. “I’m a bitch to you, like, a lot of the time. Mostly you deserve it, because you can be a real ass, but still...” She shrugged one shoulder. “I’m a bitch.”

 

Alec smirked. “What can I say? You’re hot when you get bitchy and angry.”

 

Max huffed angrily. She laid her palms flat against his chest and levered herself upright and glared at him, her brown eyes snapping. In the back of her mind she was aware of the warm, smooth skin beneath her splayed hands, but she refused to let it distract her.

 

“See? Just like now,” he teased. “You’re pissed and I’m horny. All’s right and sane in our world.” His smirk turned into a cocky grin that threatened to swallow his face. His hands slid to the dip of her lower back, his fingers slipping under the hem of her shirt to toy with her skin.

 

“Urgh! I shoulda known you couldn’t be serious for even FIVE minutes. Everything’s just a joke to you, isn’t it?”

 

He met her heated gaze evenly, all playfulness gone from his face. His fingers stilled. “Max, I’d rather laugh than... well, I’d just rather laugh.”

 

Max swallowed hard at the pain hidden in his eyes. Alec forced a smile. “Crying don’t do much for a guy’s reputation, ya know what I mean?” he joked weakly in an attempt to steer the conversation away from treacherous emotional waters.

 

Max lowered herself back down onto his chest. He tucked her head under his chin and nuzzled her hair, his lips buried in her silken tresses. She breathed deeply, letting his musky, masculine scent wash over her.

 

“Alec? Don’t you ever...” Max trailed off, unsure how to ask a trained assassin why he didn’t have nightmares about the people he killed. Particularly when one of his victims was his dearest love.

 

“I used to,” Alec answered in a low voice. “Every night.”

 

“Were they bad?” The question was out before Max could stop herself. Of course they were bad; nightmares were, by definition, very unpleasant experiences. Max winced at her clumsiness, her teeth nibbling on her lower lip.

 

And besides, she already knew the answer from experience. There were several nights just after they fled Seattle when she woke to find Alec fighting against invisible restraints, shivering and moaning in his sleep. His small whimpers of pain stirred a tenderness in her she scarcely knew she was capable of feeling, especially in reference to him. Once he whispered Rachel’s name in such a tormented voice it broke Max’s heart to hear him.

 

Not knowing what else to do she’d brushed her fingers through his hair, the way Ben or Tinga used to for her when she was younger. That simple, human contact soothed Alec’s demons and sent him back into a dreamless sleep.

 

It hurt her to see him hurting so badly but she never said a word about it, knowing how much he’d hate that she saw him at his most vulnerable.

 

Alec was quiet for so long, Max thought he wasn’t going to answer. “Yeah,” he said eventually in a voice so low she might have missed it even with her enhanced hearing, if his lips weren’t inches from her ear. “Yeah, they’re pretty bad.”

 

Bad didn’t begin to cover it.

 

“So what changed?” Max asked curiously. “What made them stop?” It had been weeks since the last time he woke her like that.

 

“You,” he said simply. “I don’t sleep alone any more.” And then his smart-aleck defences kicked in and he smirked. “With a pretty girl in his bed, a guy’s got other things to think about.”

 

“You mean WITH,” Max corrected automatically, but her mind wasn’t on their banter. She turned her face into his chest to hide her growing smile against his bare skin. Her heart swelled with happiness, an emotion she rarely felt these days.

 

Laughter bubbled up inside of her and Max clamped her lips shut to keep from giggling like a hysterical teenaged girl. Alec said he never slept alone ANYMORE, which meant that SHE was the first. Out of all the girls Alec had taken into his bed, not a single one of them got to stay the night... except for her. She was the first of his ‘conquests’ to know the delicious feeling of waking up wrapped in his arms.

 

' _He DOES care,'_  Max realized in a flash of female intuition. ' _This isn’t just sex to him, no matter what stupid, sexist, sarcastic comment he might make to cover it up.'_

 

“It’s a pack instinct thing,” Alec said defensively when Max didn’t respond. “We sleep better around people we trust. We let down our guard and-”

 

“I know,” Max said quickly, before he could misunderstand her silence. “When I was a kid back at Manticore, if I had a bad dream Jondy or... or Tinga would let me crawl into bed with them.” ' _Or Ben would tell me stories and stroke my hair until I fell asleep.'_  But she wouldn’t say Ben’s name aloud here; she wouldn’t bring their dead brother’s ghost into their bed.

 

Alec was playing with a lock of her hair, weaving it around his fingers. His other hand curved protectively around her ribs, and his heart thumped steadily in her ear. Max smiled. “It made me feel safe and loved,” she murmured. ' _The way I do right now,'_  she added mentally. ' _The way I always do around you.'_  But she wasn’t about to say anything until he did.

 

' _You are, Maxie. More than you know.'_  But he would never tell her. He told Rachel how he felt, and then she died.

 

Silence descended on the room. They were genetically-engineered super soldiers, trained to face overwhelming odds without fear, but neither could muster sufficient courage to admit their feelings aloud, not even under the cover of darkness.

 

 

~*~

 

 

It was an obscenely perfect, Disney-esque day for a homecoming. The sun was warm, the sky was blue, and birds were chirping in the lush, green trees. All that was missing was Deck to welcome his prodigal daughter home with wide open arms.

 

A light gust of wind ruffled Jondy’s short blonde hair. Dust particles riding the breeze stung her eyes and made them water. At least, she told herself it was the dust. There was no other reason for the tears in her eyes, because super soldiers don’t cry. They remain stoic in the face of death and shrug off mortal wounds and never, ever weep.

 

She tucked her hair behind her ears with impatient fingers, her gaze never wavering from the one place she hoped never to revisit.

 

Manticore.

 

It didn’t matter that this was Washington, not Wyoming. And it didn’t matter in the least that those buildings down there were just fire-blackened hulks. It was still Manticore.

 

Hell on Earth.

 

Home.

 

Manticore haunted her dreams for the last 12 years, and no matter how far or how hard she ran, somehow she always knew she would come full circle in the end. But she never expected it would happen this way. She at least had the option to walk away if she so desired. So many of her family weren’t that fortunate. Maxie was down there somewhere right now, sleeping in the cold, hard ground. Jondy hoped they buried her next to Eva and Jack and Tinga, so at least her baby sister wouldn’t be alone.

 

A bitter sigh escaped Jondy’s lips. Her family had fought and died to stay free of this place and yet here she was, back again. By her own choice, no less. How sick was that?

 

So what if this X5-946 was in charge now instead of Lydecker? It was still Manticore.

 

Two days ago she saw the cable hack ordering the X-series to report in. She was sitting in a scuzzy diner at the time, wolfing down the slop they served for breakfast when the familiar red and blue banner scrolled across the screen. She’d nearly choked on her food. A low-life punk with greasy hair and rank breath took it upon himself to give her the Heimlich. Predictably he tried to cop a feel at the same time. She belted him harder than she should have and bolted out the door.

 

She remembered ducking into a back alley and curling up into a ball behind a dumpster, shaken and confused. Some homeless guy mistook her for a strung-out junkie and started whaling on her for taking over his spot. She belted him one too.

 

As hard as she tried, she just couldn’t make sense of it. Manticore was down, gone forever, and good riddance. They were finally free. Why would anyone want to go back to that life?

 

She’d spent the better part of those two days holed up in a motel, debating with herself. She didn’t doubt the cable hack was legitimate. Eyes Only proved he was on their side – whatever his reasons – a year and a half ago when he warned her and her siblings that their locations had been compromised. He'd saved her life that day. She’d watched from the safety of a nearby rooftop as a Manticore TAC team ripped through her apartment just minutes after she vacated it.

 

No, she didn’t doubt the hack. She just didn’t know if she could bring herself to willingly return to Manticore. She’d even turned her bike around twice on the drive up here. And once she finally did get here, it took her half an hour just to get off her bike and start the long trek through the woods.

 

In the end, she came because she thought Ben might. He always was the good little soldier. But once she hooked up with her big brother she had absolutely no intention of sticking around. Let the others play at being soldiers again, if they missed it so damn much after only a year on the outside. Let them recreate Manticore. She was out of the game and she intended to keep it that way.

 

' _Please be here Ben,'_  she pleaded mentally. His trail had gone cold nearly a month ago, and she had absolutely no idea where else to look. They were trained to disappear, and on top of that they’d had 12 years of practice at covering up their tracks. No one had ever taught them how to reverse the process.

 

So she just drifted randomly, hoping to bump into him again. It wasn’t the most efficient search method, but Zack had never shared his secrets for how to track down rogue X5s. Reunions were a big no-no in his book of survival tactics. There were times when she hated Zack for that, even though rationally she understood his reasoning.

 

But on the plus side, drifting had worked for Zane. He’d stopped in Frisco for a drink one night and nearly keeled over in shock when he spotted her tending bar. Unfortunately, drifting didn’t seem to be working for her. Ben was still in the wind and Manticore was her last hope to catch up with her big brother. She simply refused to think about what she’d do if he wasn’t there. She’d lost him twice already; once after the escape, and a second time when Zack told her Ben died fighting when Manticore came for him.

 

She couldn’t lose him again. She just couldn’t.

 

Her musings were abruptly cut off by the sound of a young, male voice behind her. “So, um, you just gonna stand there and stare at it all day? Because I got rounds to make.”

 

Jondy whipped around and dropped into her combat stance, her hackles raised. ' _Idiot'_  she cursed herself. ' _Never let your guard down in enemy territory! A careless soldier is a dead soldier.'_  Lydecker’s gruff voice echoed mockingly in her ears.

 

A lanky, blond-haired kid leaned casually against a nearby tree, his arms and ankles crossed. Dressed as he was in jeans, sneakers and a faded flannel shirt, he could be any teenager in any schoolyard in the country, if it weren’t for the M-16 rifle slung over his shoulder.

 

Jondy took her eyes off him long enough to quickly scan her surroundings, right to left the way she’d been taught. Satisfied it was just the two of them, she turned her full attention back to the kid. He looked so young; Jondy guessed he wasn’t more than 15. Too young to be X5. ' _Guess perfection wasn’t enough for good ol’ Manticore, they just had to keep churning out the prototypes.'_

 

“You didn’t know I was here, did’ja? Cool.” Pride lit his face briefly before he covered it up with a careless smirk. The look didn’t sit naturally on his face though, as if he just copied the smirk off someone else and was trying it on for size.

 

Jondy shrugged nonchalantly and lowered her hands to her sides. “This place creeps me out.”

 

She winced at how lame that sounded. ' _Great excuse, Jon. Now he’ll think you’re afraid of the dark.'_  Letting your fear control you was even worse than being careless. Soldiers aren’t supposed to be superstitious. ' _Not Manticore soldiers anyway,'_  she amended, recalling all the stupid rituals she’d seen the human guards engage in. ' _As if spitting over your left shoulder three times would really keep the nomalies away.'_  She refused to remember all the teeth they’d offered to the Blue Lady for the same purpose.

 

The kid just shrugged. “It’s not so bad. It’s ours now. And nobody yells at you anymore. Well, Mole does, but that’s just Mole, ya know? He yells at everyone, even Alec sometimes.” He pushed himself off the tree and moved to stand beside her. “C’mon. I’m s’posed to take you down to Command.”

 

“I’m not joining up,” Jondy said quickly. “I’m just here to find my brother.”

 

He gave her an odd look and then shrugged again. X6s didn’t question X5s; it went against the chain of command. “Everyone’s gotta check in with Dix. He’ll know if your brother’s here.”

 

Jondy sighed and nodded. She didn’t particularly want to make herself known to the powers-that-be around here, but she had to admit it would be faster than searching the facility. And if Ben wasn’t here she could always just leave.

 

The kid turned and whistled a signal to the trees.  _‘Returning to base. Resume patrol.’_  Another sentry – a dark-haired girl this time – stepped into view and signed acknowledgement and then melted back into the forest. Jondy stared after her, startled and more than a little chagrined. Back in the day only Zack and Maxie were able to get the drop on her, and that was only because they were the best in the unit at stealth. Now two kids had snuck up on her in the space of ten minutes. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

 

' _Damn it Ben, this is your fault,'_  she thought grumpily. ' _I’m NOT losing my touch, I’m just distracted and it’s all because of you.'_  Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the wide grin on the kid’s face, but thankfully he knew when to keep his mouth shut. Jondy flipped her hair over her shoulders with an irritated toss of her head and fell into step behind her escort.

 

Jondy’s head swivelled almost constantly as they crossed the compound, her eyes straining to catch every detail. She quickly realized the layout of this facility was identical to the one in Gillette – barracks and mess hall on the left, training rooms and classrooms on the right, and the infirmary, labs, and Command in the centre. It was almost as if it had been transported here from Wyoming by Dorothy’s tornado. Jondy wondered if she’d find their altar on the roof of their old barracks if she looked, and then shook away the idle fancy.

 

No one paid much attention to them. Jondy spotted a few Xs sparring on the ruined training grounds, the cracked asphalt calling for clever footwork. Others hurried past carrying junk of all descriptions. Judging from the loud bangs and thumps, most of the workforce had been assigned to clean-up crews. A charred and broken desk chair sailed out an open window right in front of them and splintered into kindling when it hit the ground. Jondy jumped like a scalded cat at the noise. Her escort just sidestepped the debris and gestured impatiently for her to follow him inside the building.

 

Jondy suppressed a shudder when she crossed over the threshold and stepped into the familiar, sterile, grey-coloured world of her childhood. She felt like she was 9 years old again, marching with her siblings behind Lydecker’s stiff back. She could almost hear the slap of their bare feet on the cool concrete floor.

 

She forced aside the unwanted memory. She wasn’t a helpless child anymore, and Lydecker was long gone. She hurried to catch up with her escort as he led the way to one of the larger briefing rooms.

 

“Hey Dix,” the kid called out cheerfully as he walked into the room with Jondy on his heels, “X5 checking in.”

 

Jondy made it three steps into the room before she stopped dead in shock. She vaguely sensed someone approaching from the left, someone the kid introduced as Dix, but her mind barely registered the presence of the bald, goggle-wearing nomalie with the lumpy face. Her gaze was locked onto the back of a man sitting with his feet propped up on the conference table. A very familiar back, though she’d only seen it once and even then only for a few seconds. But it was the same broad shoulders, the same tousled drown hair, the same golden skin.

 

This was the man from the gas station.

 

This was Ben.

 

Jondy let out a shaky breath that was half sob, half laugh. She’d found him. After all these years, she had her brother back. She wanted to pull him into her arms and never let him go. She drifted forward, her hand slowly reaching out to touch him.

 

Unbidden, Zane’s words rang in her ears. ' _Ben’s dead. He’s been dead for over a year… Zack would never be wrong about something like that… Whoever you saw, he wasn’t our brother. He’s just someone who looks like him… Ben’s gone. He’s with the Blue Lady now.'_

 

Jondy shook her head in denial. ' _Zack was wrong. He was!'_  she insisted vehemently. But still, she inched forward and peered at the tell-tale black lines that peeked out below Ben’s hair.

 

331845739494

 

Four, not three. Her heart screeched to a halt and fell to the floor along with her jaw. She snatched her outstretched hand back as if she’d been burned. “Four nine…FOUR?” she whispered hoarsely.

 

“That’s what the barcode says,” he replied with Ben’s voice. He tossed his pen and clipboard on the table and stood and looked at her with Ben’s hazel eyes.

 

It was Alec’s turn to do a double-take, although he recovered from the surprise much quicker than Jondy. “I know you.” He never forgot a face, not unless Mia or one of her Psy Ops buddies were playing mind games with him, but that didn’t count. “You’re the girl from the gas station, a month ago. You ran right into me. Gave me pretty much the same look then too.” The wide-eyed, gaping mouth, suddenly-forgot-how-to-breath look.

 

He cocked his head and stared at her appraisingly. This girl, whoever she was, looked like she was about to faint, which was definitely not normal behaviour for an X5. His gaze flicked over to Dalton and Dix but they both shook their heads mutely; they didn’t know what the deal was with this girl either.

 

“I thought you were Ben,” Jondy whispered, her blue eyes still wide with shock. She felt like she’d been run over by a tank. She was so sure, and all this time she was chasing a doppelganger.

 

Her words, though soft, slammed into Alec with all the power of a physical blow. He was quick to force his mask into place, but Dalton and Dix still caught sight of the pain that flashed behind his eyes. “You’re one of the ‘09 escapees.” She had to be; no one else called 493 by that name.

 

Jondy stared blankly at the man who wore Ben’s face. She couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought, much less string words into a sentence.

 

“I’m not your brother,” Alec spat out harshly. Would he never be free of Ben’s shadow? “I’m his twin. Obviously. I’m Alec.”

 

Alec’s eyes, so warm and friendly just a second ago, were now icy green. Dalton glared resentfully at the Niner’s back. He wished he’d never been assigned to that section of the perimeter. Better yet, he wished he hadn’t insisted she check in when she said she didn’t want to. He’d heard the rumours about 493 and what Psy Ops did to Alec because of him. Everyone did. The doctors tried to make him crazy to prove it was a genetic flaw, and when they couldn’t they punished him for that too. “Stupid Niners,” he muttered under his breath.

 

“Alec,” Jondy repeated in a numb voice. Alec, not Ben. Ben was dead, just like Zack said. She was such a fool. “Right. Ok then. I’m, um... I’m leaving.” She spun on her heel and retreated towards the door. She wanted out of there before she did something crazy. Well, something even crazier than chasing her dead brother’s twin across half the country.

 

“Wait.”

 

Her spine straightened at the command in his voice. She dropped her hand from the door knob and turned around before she even realized what she’d done.

 

Alec ran a hand through his hair. “Shit,” he muttered. He took a deep breath. It wasn’t her fault; she didn’t even know he existed. Of course she’d think he was Ben. And if he let her run now, Max would kill him. “You can’t leave yet. There’s someone here you have to see.”

 

Jondy shook her head, too angry to be curious. It was past time for her to leave; she wanted no part of whatever was going on here. But then she caught sight of Dix, the living embodiment of her childhood fears. She shrank back instinctively. Her wide eyes darted to meet Alec’s in mute appeal. Suddenly she was ready to follow him anywhere as long as it was away from the nomaly.

 

Her recoil wounded Dix though he was too polite, and too well-practiced, to let it show. Dalton wasn’t so quick to cover up his animosity. Alec groaned. The transgenics’ ingrained hatred for the ’09 escapees was a complication they didn’t need right now.

 

Alec jerked his head in the direction of the door and Jondy obediently fell into step behind him. He was a little surprised she didn’t offer more resistance. Max certainly would have. ' _Well at least I don’t have to drag her there kicking and screaming. What an impression THAT would make.'_  An image of Jondy flung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes sprang into his mind. A faint grin crossed his lips.

 

He led her the short distance down the hall to the office Max had commandeered for her own. Sandoval’s old office; she’d flatly refused to use Renfro’s. She’d stuck her head in the door, sniffed the air delicately, claimed it smelled like ferret and flounced off in search of other, less offensive accommodations.

 

So he ended up with Renfro’s office while she settled into Sandoval’s. His stomach still churned every time he went near it, but he didn’t tell her that.

 

Her door was shut, as usual. Max was hardly the ‘my door is always open’ type of leader. More like, ‘don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out’. He rapped his knuckles lightly against the wood. The unusual sound startled him out of his wandering thoughts. He blinked in confusion at his hand poised above the door. He never knocked; he just barged in with a cocky grin and a sarcastic comment. Shaking his head at his uncharacteristic display of manners, he pushed open the door and slouched against the frame.

 

Max glanced up from her paperwork with an annoyed scowl that quickly melted into a small smile at the sight of him. “Hey you.” Her forehead crinkled. “Since when do you knock?”

 

Alec shrugged. Since people started mistaking him for his dead psychotic twin brother, apparently. “I thought I’d give it a try. One of us had to, eventually. And you know me, I’m always up for a challenge.”

 

“Logan would be so proud.” Max wiped away a mock tear.

 

“Ug,” Alec shuddered. “Can’t have that. Next thing you know he’ll expect me to give up stealing.” They shared a grin.

 

Behind him, Jondy huffed and shifted her weight from foot to foot. She was too short to see over his shoulder into the room, and her patience was wearing thin. He sobered instantly. “Got you a present Maxie,” he smirked. Jondy gasped aloud at the nickname. Alec straightened and stepped aside to reveal the blond behind him.

 

Papers fluttered from Max’s limp fingers to land, forgotten, on her desk. “Jondy,” she breathed out. She was frozen in place. Only her eyes seemed capable of movement. She blinked rapidly several times to clear her vision, afraid to believe.

 

Jondy stumbled backwards, reeling from the shock of yet another emotional sucker-punch. Belatedly Alec realized he should have warned her first. Didn’t Max’s siblings think she died in that bungled raid on the DNA lab? ' _Whoops.'_  He shrugged guiltily and slid behind Jondy to block her retreat. Placing his hands on her tense shoulders, he gently propelled her into the room and then shut the door on the look of jubilation that transformed Max’s face.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Alec raked his fingers through his hair and sneaked a surreptitious glance at his watch. Max was 11 minutes late. Dix had convened an emergency command meeting because he’d discovered something about the runes, Max’s runes… and she was late.

 

This was NOT the impression Max wanted to make. Leaders don’t postpone tactical meetings for personal reasons. Ever. It didn’t matter that a long-lost and beloved sister just turned up at the door, she couldn’t afford to blow off a briefing. Not if she expected to keep the respect of the troops, and more importantly, the officers responsible for carrying out her orders. Max ought to know that; she’d spent 9 years as a soldier.

 

Alec suppressed a sigh. There was a limit to how many ruffled feathers even HE could soothe at a time. And it certainly didn’t help matters any that Max was late because of another Niner.

 

He ran his fingers through his hair again, mussing it up in that way that women found so endearing. One of the female X5 representatives at the meeting – a leggy blond with ice-blue eyes – smiled wistfully at him. The other female – a petite Asian girl with delicate, cat-like features and porcelain skin – stared at Mole instead in an attempt to keep her mind on the mission, but her gaze kept drifting back to Alec.

 

Alec smiled at them out of long habit, but his heart wasn’t in the game. He shifted restlessly in his seat, his physical discomfort matching his mental state. He suspected this was how Logan must have felt, when he and the rest of Manticore barrelled into Max’s life and forced Logan to shuffle to the sidelines.

 

Max had her sister back, and no doubt the rest would turn up sooner or later. Her real family, not just the substitute one he was a part of. And he had no place there; Max had made that perfectly clear when Zack turned up in Seattle. Alec had gone from being her annoying but trusty sidekick to the invisible man in about 2.6 seconds flat. Zack nearly killed him and she barely even glanced his way.

 

Although, Alec had to admit not being part of Max’s real family did have its up-side. Family meant brothers and sisters to Max, and if there was one thing Alec refused to be, it was Max’s brother. That was just too kinky, and not in a good way.

 

But aside from not being her brother, Alec didn’t know what he was to Max. They were more than just friends, if the hot monkey lovin’ was anything to go by. And he was fairly certain that in Max’s rather prudish world view, the concept of a sex buddy was frowned upon. But Max had yet to publicly acknowledge him as her mate, or even privately for that matter. And he still had no idea where he stood in relation to Logan. Was she just using him, even though she KNEW – she HAD to know – at least some of what he felt for her? Was he just a good fuck until she could touch the love of her life again without killing the guy, or was he possibly something more?

 

It frustrated the hell out of him. They were supposed to be together; couldn’t she see that? Hell, even Manticore had that one figured out.

 

He glanced at his watch again. 13 minutes, and counting. He deliberately slouched in his chair, hoping his casual body language might set the tone for the rest of the room, but it didn’t seem to be working. The rest of the command group – Mole, Dix, Joshua, Luke, and the four X-series representatives – were as stiff as boards and almost as chatty. Even Joshua looked unhappy, although with him it was hard to tell whether he was upset at Max’s tardiness or upset that the others were upset.

 

Mole tossed him a challenging stare. Alec caught his gaze and held it until Mole broke eye contact. Alec could almost hear the thoughts in the lizard-man’s head; they all could. Mole wasn’t particularly keen on saving the world to begin with, and he wasn’t one to let his opinions go unvoiced for long.

 

Max finally sauntered into the room 15 minutes late. She dropped into the empty chair next to Alec and waved half-heartedly at the room. “Sorry, lost track of time talking with my sister.Ya know how it goes.” She shrugged one shoulder. “So let’s get this bitch over with already.”

 

Alec kept his expression blank, but inside he winced. He knew Max well enough to know the casual attitude was just her way to cover up her fear – he could see it in the tension around her eyes and the death-grip she had on the arms of her chair. But to anyone who didn’t know her as well as he did, Max came off looking careless and indifferent. And it certainly wasn’t helping her win any brownie points with Mole. A leader didn’t apologize for keeping her subordinates waiting, or act like a tactical meeting was an imposition in her busy life.

 

' _Shit.'_  He knew he should have listened to his instincts and gone to collect Max before the meeting. He hadn’t because he didn’t want to intrude on her time with her sister. That, and the way Jondy stared at him made him feel like the wrong twin died.

 

' _Suck it up, soldier,'_  he told himself sternly. He ought to be used to it by now. After all, Jondy was hardly the first person to look at him and see Ben. People had been staring at him like that his entire life. And he couldn’t afford to let it distract him. He had responsibilities to Max and she needed him to do his job.

 

At least she hadn’t brought Jondy along, as he half-feared she might. That would make his job nearly impossible. From Max’s perspective it made a certain amount of sense; she trusted Jondy, and she barely knew most of the X-series. But placing another Niner in a position of authority would not go over well.

 

The transgenics’ dislike and distrust of the twelve rogues wasn’t personal, but it was no less real for being the by-product of reindoctrination. They’d suffered and bled because of the rogues. They stayed loyal to Manticore, but they were the ones who paid the price while the rogues were off living the dream. And if the Psy Ops doctors hadn’t been quite so thorough or so diligent in their task, Alec would probably be hating right along with the rest of them. After all, he had more reasons to than most. But when Manticore made him not care, they took it all away, even their own reprogramming.

 

Which left him as the ‘voice of reason’. How ironic.

 

Dix stood and instantly every eye in the room turned in his direction. He cleared his throat nervously and shuffled his papers. After living so many years in a tiny basement cell, he was uncomfortable at being the centre of attention, particularly when it involved addressing Manticore’s perfect X-series.

 

“I, um, I had this theory that, uh, the Four Horseman runes and the prophecy were just there to, you know, get our attention. Well, not just but mostly. Because they, uh, they faded within a day or two, and that’s pretty strange when you think about it. I mean, a message can’t be that critical if it vanishes before anyone has a chance to decipher it, right?” His voice slowly gained in confidence when no one scoffed at him. “In fact, the only rune that hasn’t faded yet is the one over Max’s heart. So, I took Sandeman literally and tested her blood.”

 

Max leaned forward, her eyes boring holes into Dix’s skull. “And?” she asked impatiently.

 

Dix blanched a little at her intense stare. He forged ahead, his words tumbling over each other in his haste to answer her. “Your immune system produces unusual antibodies. I checked them against our medical database, but they don’t match any known disease. Antibodies fight off infection, and pestilence is one of the Four Horsemen, right? So I’d say it looks like the cult’s big plan for the second coming is some kind of super plague.”

 

“And I’m the cure.”

 

Dix hesitated slightly and then nodded. Max released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and unlocked her fingers from around the arms of her chair. ' _Well that answers the question of which side Sandeman was on,'_  Max thought in relief, remembering the doubts Logan voiced after they discovered the runes signifying the Four Horsemen. Sandeman hid a cure inside her, so clearly she was meant to save the world, not kill everyone in it.

 

“Crap,” Mole muttered around his cigar. “I knew I shoulda gone with plague instead of nukes.”

 

“What?!” Max sputtered. She snapped her head to the side and pinned Alec with her stare. He smiled nervously and shifted in his chair. “You guys had a betting pool goin’ on?”

 

Alec raised his hands defensively. “Just a little harmless fun to pass the time, Max.”

 

Max drilled him in the shoulder hard enough to leave a mark. “The end of the world is not a joke, Alec!”

 

“Ow,” Alec complained and rubbed his bruised shoulder. “Look, I’ll split the pot with you if it’ll make you feel better.”

 

“This isn’t funny, you moron,” Max snarled at him, unreasonably hurt that he was treating this so lightly; if it mattered to her, shouldn’t it matter to him? She turned away from his wounded expression.

 

She pressed her hands flat against her thighs to keep them from trembling and tried to gather together her scattered thoughts. “Dix, if I’m immune to whatever plague the cult’s got goin’ on, then we can use the antibodies in my blood to inoculate others, right? And make them immune too? But... but there’s only one of me. How are we supposed to inoculate the whole country, using just my blood? It’s impossible. There’s just not enough of me to go around.”

 

“Yeah, actually I wondered about that too. Hiding the cure in only one transgenic isn’t the most prudent thing to do. What if you were killed?” Dix shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense. So... I tested other transgenics for the same antibodies.”

 

Alec unconsciously fingered the vein in his elbow where Dix took a blood sample from him that morning.

 

“We all have the antibodies, even the nomalies, ” Dix said solemnly. “Sandeman made us all immune.”

 

“Hold up,” Alec interrupted. “Logan said Max was The One. Now you’re saying we’re all in on this gig. Am I the only one who needs a road map here?” But judging by their blank expressions, Alec wasn’t the only one confused by the sudden turn-around.

 

Dix shifted his weight nervously. He eyed Max warily and then quickly dropped his gaze, grateful for the length of table between him and Max. He’d seen her volatile reaction whenever Alec implied Logan was less than perfect, and here he was claiming Logan got it backwards.

 

“Well, um, I think Logan forgot that words can have more than one meaning, and jumped to conclusions. Though, in his defence it was the obvious conclusion to jump to, since Max is the only one with the runes. But, uh, when used as a pronoun, ‘one’ can mean, well... one. As in a specific person. Or, it can signify people in general. In this case, ‘one’ refers to all transgenics as a whole.” Dix gestured around the table at the assembled X’s and transhumans.

 

“Lots of one,” Joshua said softly into the silence.

 

' _Wait, so I’m NOT the Chosen One after all? But the runes said... What the fuck is going on?'_  Max stared blankly at Dix, not quite sure how to react. She opened her mouth to protest, but couldn’t seem to make her tongue work properly. She glanced beseechingly at Alec, who voiced her objections for her.

 

“Dix, are you sure? Max has no junk DNA – all her genes are coded to do something. What’s that all about, if she’s not the one in the prophecy?”

 

“I’m sure of it.” Dix’s bald head nodded vigorously, making the light bounce off his goggles; he stayed up all night checking and rechecking his findings, just to be certain. “The runes are imprinted on her DNA, just like our barcodes. But it takes up a lot of space on the genome to code for skin pigmentation changes of a specific shape, at a specific time. That’s why she has no junk DNA. Sandeman removed it so he’d have room to encode the runes.”

 

“So, I’m just the... the messenger?” Max asked incredulously.

 

Dix gave her a look that was almost apologetic and nodded.

 

A sweet wave of relief washed through Max knowing the fate of the world and its 7 billion inhabitants didn’t rest on her shoulders alone. But the blissful feeling was followed by a surge of anger so sharp and bitter it took all of her control not to leap out of her chair and kick it across the room. Once again she was being used and controlled by her messed-up DNA. She hated it with every fibre of her being.

 

Five minutes ago she was humanity’s last hope, albeit a reluctant one. Now she was just Sandeman’s tool, an unimportant thing. The runes were an entity unto themselves and she was entirely beside the point. She wasn’t special. And despite the fact she never asked to be special, to be so suddenly demoted to the level of a scrap piece of paper was humiliating, and – if she were entirely honest with herself – a little disappointing.

 

“So Ms. Perfect DNA’s so freakin’ special cuz she can grow her own tattoos?” Mole snorted in amusement.

 

Alec kicked him in the shins under the table and shot him a warning glance. Mole grunted in pain and hid his smile behind his cigar.

 

“Shut up,” Max ordered. The mocking look on Mole’s face made her wonder just how long she could hold onto her command without the runes backing her authority. Time was short, and they still didn’t have the answers they needed to end this thing. Guilt and fear of failure – so recently lifted – came crashing back down onto her thin shoulders.

 

“Arrg!” She growled in frustration and threw her hands in the air. “Goddamn Sandeman! Is it too much to ask that the only clues we have to save the world NOT be in a dead language?! What good is a message I can’t even read? And what’s with the cryptic prophecy shit? And-”

 

Alec laid a restraining hand on Max’s arm and she clamped her lips shut on the rest of her tirade. This was not the time or place for a full-blown rant about her crappy little life. She rubbed tiredly at her temples; a killer headache pounded behind her eyes.

 

Mole barked a laugh. Max glared icily at him, in no mood for his attitude. “What the hell is so funny?”

 

“The irony of it all.” He waved his cigar at Max. “We’ve got a cure or vaccine or whatever to the super plague, only we can’t use it because the Norms would rather die than be tainted byTrannie blood.”

 

“So we go to the source,” Max stated impatiently. “Wipe out the cult’s stockpile before they can use it.”

 

“Sure thing, princess. You just go consult your magic tea leafs and tell us when and where.”

 

Dix cleared his throat loudly, breaking the locked stare between Max and Mole. “Um, I might have an answer to the ‘when’ part.” All eyes turned to him.

 

“White and his buddies are a cult, right? So it stands to reason there’d be some kind of religious significance to the timing of the second coming. You don’t just wait 5000 years to annihilate humanity, without having a special date in mind. So, on a hunch I did some research last night. In five days, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will be in alignment. Chances are that’s the timetable the cult’s operating on. And check this out... the last time these four planets were in alignment like this was 676 years ago.”

 

Dix quickly pulled up a file on his laptop. He swallowed a lump of fear and swivelled the computer around to face the table. Displayed on the screen was the image of a tattered document from the University of Paris. In a faded, spidery script some long-forgotten scribe had documented the planetary alignment, and what it heralded. Dix read it aloud in a quaking voice, translating into English for those not familiar with medieval French.

 

_“In the year of our Lord 1345, there was a conjunction of the planets Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the House of Aquarius. The conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter portends death and disaster. The conjunction of Mars and Jupiter portends pestilence in the air. For Jupiter is warm and humid and draws up evil vapours from the earth and water; and Mars is hot and dry and kindles the evil into an infective fire. We must therefore expect a terrible calamity.”_

 

“Uh... didn’t the Black Plague strike in 1345?” Alec asked into the sudden silence.

 

Dix nodded solemnly. “And wiped out over one-third of Europe’s population.”

 

Max turned to Alec, her eyes wide with fear. He gripped her hand under the table. “The cult’s had almost 700 years to perfect their methods,” he said quietly. “If we don’t find a way to stop them, humanity’s screwed.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The planets really did align in 1345, and the French Académie did predict a “terrible calamity.” The Black Plague didn’t actually strike until 1348, but it’s my story and I can play with the dates if I want to. ;)


	11. Chapter 11

Max stood in the moonlit hall outside her and Alec’s quarters, one hand clenched tightly around the doorknob. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, nervous despite the fact that everyone else was sound asleep at this hour except for her and a handful of guards. She glanced furtively up and down the corridor before slowly turning the doorknob. The latch released with a soft click. Biting her lower lip, Max listened intently for the slightest sound from inside the room. She breathed a quick sigh of relief at the silence and gently eased open the door.

 

The warped and rusted hinges screeched loudly in protest, just centimetres shy of a gap big enough for her to squeeze through. Max cursed the uncooperative hinge under her breath. Alec was certainly awake now, if he wasn’t before. Not that her chances of sneaking in and out without waking him were very good to begin with. Damn enhanced transgenic senses.

 

Shrugging in defeat, Max swung the door wide and stepped inside their room. Alec blinked sleepily at her; his eyes were dark, the pupils dilated for night vision so that only a thin rim of green showed around the black. His eyes were deep pools she could lose herself in, if she wasn’t careful.

 

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his fists – and action that, along with his tousled hair and slight pout, made him look like an adorable little boy. Max longed to curl up next to him and forget the world existed, but Jondy was waiting for her. A wistful sigh escaped her lips.

 

Alec smirked and the sweet little boy look was ruined. He sat up, the blanket sliding off his chest to pool in his lap. His bare skin gleamed palely in the darkness. “Miss me, Maxie?”

 

His husky, sleep-roughened voice was unbelievably sexy, and Max felt her heart accelerate in response. She shut the door and leaned casually against it. “Nope. Just stopped by for a change of clothes.” True, but suddenly she had other things on her mind.

 

“Really?” he asked, his voice now tinged with amused disbelief.

 

“Mmm-hmm.”

 

Alec slipped out of bed and padded across the room towards her, his movements smooth and sleek as a hunting cat. “Oh, I think I can change your mind.”

 

Max tilted her head back to look at him through half-closed eyes. A smile flitted across her lips. “I dunno about that. I already had what you got on offer, pretty boy.” But her small pink tongue darted out to lick her lips, putting the lie to her words.

 

He smiled that slow, sexy smile of his and planted his hands on the door to either side of her, effectively trapping her there. Not that she had any intention of escaping. She could feel the heat of his bare skin across the inch of space between their bodies. Her breath caught in her throat.

 

“Is that a challenge, Maxie?” he asked huskily. “Because we both know I’m always up for a challenge.” He leaned in and kissed her neck, nibbling and sucking on the velvety skin. A shiver raced down her spine. Her eyes slid shut at the hedonistic pleasure his warm, soft lips were giving her.

 

He tangled his hands in her long, silken locks and gently tugged her head to the side to bare her neck to him. His tongue traced the delicate whorls of her ear, his warm breath washing over her skin. She felt like she was on fire. Heat coursed through her body to coil in her belly.

 

She laid her hands flat against his chest, feeling it rise and fall. His heart beat steady and strong under her fingers. She slowly brushed her palms over his nipples and felt them harden in response. Grasping them between her thumb and forefinger, she tweaked them hard. His hips jerked in response and slammed into hers. She could feel the hardness of his erection straining against the thin cloth of his boxers.

 

She glanced at him slyly from beneath lowered lashes, a teasing and seductive grin on her lips. He smiled lazily back, his eyes dark and predatory. Her pulse quickened at the look in his eyes.

 

Alec bent his head and captured her mouth in a long, deep kiss. Sucking on her bottom lip, he gently nipped it with his teeth. She parted her lips, as eager to taste him and he was to claim her. He delved into her mouth, plundering the warm cavern with his tongue. With one hand he lightly brushed her barcode with his fingertips, tickling the sensitive skin, while the other hand cupped her cheek, the tender gestures at odds with the fierceness of his kiss. The combined sensations made her head spin. She moaned against his lips.

 

He deepened the kiss, until her world narrowed to the feel of his lips on hers and his body up against her own. She arched her back, pressing the soft swell of her breasts against the hard planes of his chest. He growled low in his throat, a deep, sexy rumble that made liquid heat pool between her legs. She was weak-kneed and trembling; the only thing keeping her upright at this point was Alec’s strong arms around her and the solid door at her back.

 

Alec lifted Max to her feet, his lips never relinquishing hers. She wrapped her legs securely around his waist, and he carried her to the bed and laid her down, his hand cupping the back of her head as it hit the mattress.

 

Max broke the kiss, gasping for much-needed air. Using her hip for leverage, she flipped them both so that she was perched on top, her legs straddling him. Alec looked nonplussed at the sudden switch. Laughing, she caught his wrists and pinned them above his head. Alec smirked, his eyes dancing in wry amusement, and something darker. “Always gotta be in control, don’cha Max?” he teased.

 

Max nipped at the soft flesh above his collarbone hard enough to leave a mark. “Are you complaining?” she whispered.

 

Alec swallowed hard at the desire lurking in her eyes. He prayed to a god he didn’t believe in that Max would never stop looking at him that way. “No,” he answered in all seriousness. “I’m all yours, babe. You know that.”

 

“Hmmm...” Max purred playfully, her eyes raking his bare chest. “Whatever shall I do with you?”

 

“Anything you want,” he said huskily. He laid limp and trusting beneath her, though Max knew he could free himself from any hold she might care to try on him.

 

Wriggling backwards, Max shifted position so that she knelt on the bed beside him, her hands tugging off his boxers impatiently. She licked her lips hungrily at the sight of him. His eyes turned almost black with desire at the hungry look in hers.

 

Grasping the base of his hard shaft in her small hand, she bent her head and licked him slowly from base to tip, her tongue swirling over and around the sensitive head. She paused to savour the taste of him before parting her lips and taking him into her mouth. He groaned at the sensation of being engulfed in her warm, wet mouth. His tip bumped against the back of her throat and Max relaxed her throat muscles to take him in further, until he was completely enveloped. He groaned again and fisted both hands in her hair, holding her there.

 

She hallowed her cheeks, her mouth creating a delicious suction around his shaft. She cupped his testicles with her free hand, one finger gently stroking the soft skin. Her teeth lightly grazed his flesh, teasing him as she suckled. Alec groaned again, his hips bucking against the pleasurable sensations that coursed through him. The sight of Max’s dark head bent over his loins, her head bobbing as he slid in and out of her mouth, was incredibly erotic. His heart hammered wildly in his chest. Pressure built at the base of his spine, threatening to overwhelm him.

 

“Maax,” he gasped, tugging at her to let him out before he lost it completely. He wanted to flip her over and take her, bury himself to the hilt in her. Max just laughed and increased the tempo, her mouth moving wickedly up and down the length of his shaft. The vibrations caused by her laughter shattered the last of his waning control. He exploded into her, his hips jerking against the pressure of her mouth on him. She swallowed his seed, milking him with her hand and licking the last drop from his tip with her tongue. She raised her head to glance sidelong up at him and licked her lips. “You taste good,” she whispered, a fiendish smile on her lips.

 

“My turn, vixen,” he growled. Alec scooped her into his arms and rolled them over so she was pinned beneath him. Max stared up into his eyes, mesmerized by the swirl of green, brown, and gold flecks. He had the most expressive eyes. She loved his eyes.

 

Alec stroked her cheek tenderly, lost in the loving look in her eyes. He kissed her softly on the lips before dropping his hands to the waistband of her shirt. He peeled her clothes off impatiently, each item tossed carelessly onto the floor until Max was as naked as the day she was brought into this cold world. Whenever that was, exactly.

 

His eyes darkened when she was finally exposed to his heated gaze. She was so beautiful, and she was his. He bent his head and captured her lips, his tongue sweeping the contours of her lips, demanding entry imperiously. Max granted him access with a small moan. He plunged into her mouth, his tongue battling with hers, tasting and exploring every crevice of her mouth. She kissed him back fiercely, lost in the taste of him, her arms wound around his neck and her fingers playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck.

 

He cupped her naked breasts, his thumbs lightly stroking the soft swell of her flesh. Her dusky nipples were already hard little peaks, but they tightened even further in response to his touch. Max moaned when Alec’s mouth abruptly left hers, feeling bereft, only to gasp softly when he fastened onto one nipple. He swirled his tongue around the tight bud, sucking and kissing it while his fingers played with the other nipple, gently pinching it between his fingers. A jolt of electricity coursed through her with every tug on her nipples. She arched her back into his caress, purring in pleasure.

 

His other hand slowly slid down her ribs, over the curve of her hip to her inner thigh, and came to rest just above her dark curls. Max wriggled in an attempt to move his hand lower still towards her centre, impatient to feel those deft, concert pianist’s fingers stroking her.

 

Alec laughed softly. His fingers explored the contours of her opening, brushing against the bundle of nerves and probing the entrance but never quite slipping inside, while his warm mouth suckled her hardened nipple. “Alec,” she moaned, and thrust her hips against his hand, frustrated by his teasing touch. Alec nipped the tender flesh of her breast with his teeth, just as he inserted one finger into her centre. Max gasped. Alec licked away the hurt of the bite mark, and slid a second finger into her passage, his thumb fondling her clit.

 

Alec abandoned her breast and trailed kisses and bites down her torso to the juncture between her hip and thigh. Nuzzling her damp, crisp curls, he breathed in the scent of her arousal. It was intoxicating and irresistible. He flicked his tongue out to taste her, grinning in feral delight at her sharp intake of breath. He lapped at her opening, his tongue massaging the sensitive bundle of nerves while his fingers moved in and out of her.

 

Max moaned, her hands clutching the sheets spasmodically. Her entire body trembled lightly, and her breathing came in little pants. Alec crooked his fingers and stroked the spongy spot behind her hips. She shuddered on contact, her hips bucking wildly against his mouth. With his free hand, Alec gripped her hips and held her steady. He could feel her passage walls fluttering around his fingers and he increased the tempo, pushing her higher and higher until she burst. She screamed his name as she climaxed. Alec grinned in male, animalistic pride at the sound, pleased to have pleasured his mate so thoroughly. He continued to stroke her inner passage, gently easing her back down to earth.

 

Eventually she opened her eyes and met his gaze from where he still hovered above her hips. He kissed her inner thigh and then crawled slowly up her body, his eyes never leaving hers. She pulled him in for a kiss, and tasted herself on his lips and tongue. The tip of his erection pressed against her opening. She wriggled her hips encouragingly. More than willing, Alec thrust inside her warm passage in one swift motion, burying himself fully in her. He paused to savour the sensation as her walls adjusted to accommodate his length.

 

Max wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him in even deeper. She clenched and relaxed the muscles of her passage, the fluttering of the walls making Alec groan in sheer pleasure. He pulled out completely and plunged into her again and again in slow steady strokes that sent Max spiralling higher and higher.

 

Alec hooked one hand behind her knee and pushed her leg back towards her chest to change the angle of penetration. Max moaned his name in soft gasps as he slammed into her. She gripped Alec’s shoulders to keep from spinning off into nothingness. He dropped his head and sank his teeth into her shoulder, feeling the need to mark her as his mate once more. The warm coppery taste of her blood filled his mouth. She gasped his name aloud and captured his lips in a fierce kiss, the taste of her blood in his mouth enflaming her senses. Her nails raked his back. Alec groaned at the mingling of pain and pleasure. He was rapidly losing control. He pounded into her over and over again, harder and faster and deeper with each thrust of his hips, her small moans urging him on and her hips moving in counter-rhythm to his own.

 

Alec felt her entire body shudder as she reached her climax. She screamed his name as she exploded, swamped by wave after wave of pleasure. The walls of her passage clenched tightly around him, pulling him after her into the abyss. He pumped furiously twice more and then stars burst and reformed behind his eyes, and he spilled his seed into her.

 

Alec pulled out reluctantly and rolled them onto their sides. He nuzzled the top of her head and breathed in her scent, feeling boneless and perfectly content. Max laid her palm against his chest and felt the ragged thumping of his heart even out. Her eyes drooped sleepily. With a deeply reluctant sigh, Max pulled herself from Alec’s arms. She’d far rather stay in bed with him than watch the sun rise with Jondy, but she promised her sister. Alec laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her but she gently slid out from under it and reached for her scattered clothes.

 

Alec pouted, and for once there was nothing mocking or playful about it. “Stay with me, Max,” he whispered. His eyes caught and held hers while his open hand beckoned her back to his side where she belonged. She was his mate, just like he was hers.

 

Max sighed mournfully and shook her head. “I can’t.” She turned her face away from the temptation posed by the sight of his naked body and concentrated all her attention on shoving her arms and legs into more or less the right holes in her clothes. “Jondy’s waiting for me.”

 

Alec sank back onto the bed, disappointed but somehow not surprised. Family always came first with Max. Whereas HE ranked somewhere just above scrubbing out latrines with a toothbrush on her list of priorities. He couldn’t help but wonder why she even bothered to visit in the first place. Well, he wouldn’t beg her to stay with him; he still had some dignity left. Not much, but enough. He closed his eyes and feigned sleepiness.

 

Max glanced over her shoulder at the bed. Alec was snuggled into the pillows, his breathing slow and even. It didn’t bother him in the slightest that she was leaving. ' _Typical male,'_  Max snorted in irritation. ' _Wham, bam, and back to sleep. Thank god we don’t have a TV.'_  She wondered, not for the first time, what any of this meant to him. What SHE meant to him. Was she even half as important to him as he was to her?

 

“Don’t get too comfy,” she warned, irritably. “Morning meeting’s at 0700 hours.” Alec stirred but didn’t answer. Max fiddled with her hair, not wanting to leave without some kind of acknowledgement from him. “Um, meet me for breakfast? Mess hall, one hour?” She grimaced in distaste at how needy that sounded. Since when did she need a man to complete her?

 

“Kay,” he murmured sleepily, without even raising his head from his pillow. “Bye.”

 

“Yeah. Bye,” Max sighed and slipped out, disgruntled and unsatisfied at being forced to choose between her family and her mate. She could hardly tell her long-lost sister she was too busy banging their dead brother’s twin to hang out with her; Jondy didn’t even know she and Alec were together. Max was too afraid to mention it. Alec was most definitely NOT her brother, but would Jondy see it that way?

 

The door clicked shut behind her with finality. Alec rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. One clenched fist slammed into the mattress.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Max was conscious of Alec’s presence the second he stepped into the mess hall, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she’d positioned herself with a clear view of the doors. She looked up from her food, her gaze pulled in his direction like iron filings to a magnet. Unconsciously she licked her lips. ' _Damn.'_   Clothed or unclothed... that boy was hot.

 

It was sinful how well he filled out his faded jeans, or how the thin material of his tight black t-shirt clung to his broad shoulders and well-defined abs. His hair was messy and damp from his shower; it looked like he just raked his fingers through it impatiently on his way to the mess hall. Max longed to reach out and smooth the tangled strands. Sunlight from an open window glinted in his hair, turning the light brown locks into a golden halo.

 

Max hid her smile behind the rim of her coffee cup. ' _Uh un. The devil’s more like it. Alec’s much too sexy to be an angel. Especially with that... talented... tongue of his.'_

 

Alec raised one eyebrow and smirked knowingly, as if to say he knew exactly which images from their lovemaking that morning were running through her mind. Even from across the room he could read her by the look in her eyes. Max flushed and gulped her coffee, and then instantly regretted it as the scalding hot liquid burned her tongue and brought tears to her eyes.

 

Alec sauntered towards her and Mole and Joshua, but he couldn’t move more than a few feet at a time without someone calling his name. Max barely recognized half of the assembled transgenics and could name even fewer of them, but they all seemed to know Alec. He stopped and greeted everyone by name, working the room with that lethal charm of his.

 

He put people at their ease. They straightened their spines unconsciously when talking to him; their smiles suddenly a little wider, a little brighter. They trusted him. Max felt a stirring of respect, and even a little envy; Alec made it all seem so easy.

 

A table of X6 girls smiled dreamily at him. “Hi Alec!” they chorused in unison. Alec winked at them. “Morning ladies,” he drawled, and the girls practically melted into little puddles of adoration at his feet.

 

Max rolled her eyes. No wonder his ego was so inflated, the way her sex drooled shamelessly over him. Well, she had just the remedy for that. Her eyes glinted wickedly.

 

Alec tossed one last grin over his shoulder at the girls, too busy soaking up the attention to watch where his feet were leading him. He collided with the leggy blonde X5 from yesterday’s briefing. She stumbled awkwardly, forcing Alec to reach out and steady her before the heavily laden tray in her hands dumped its contents all over the floor. She smiled winsomely up at him, her big blue eyes shining with gratitude.

 

Max’s eyes narrowed to dark slits. That collision was no accident; the Manticore lab techs had pruned any and all clumsiness from the X5 genome. She should be able to balance that tray while walking a tight rope in gale-force winds. Plus there was nothing accidental about the way she veered sharply at the last second, directly into Alec’s path. Naturally, Alec seemed oblivious to the blonde’s devious helplessness. Max grit her teeth. ' _Why is Alec STILL talking to her?!'_  she fumed. ' _How long does it take to say ‘hey, watch where you’re going’? And why is he smiling?'_

 

The female X5 laughed merrily and Max had to resist the urge to blur across the room and drag Alec forcibly away before the sultry blonde sank her claws any further into HER boy.

 

 _‘She’s pretty,’_  the voice of self-doubt whispered in her mind.  _‘Blonde and buxom, just the way Alec likes his women.’_  Max clenched the edge of her seat so hard her knuckles turned white under the pressure, suddenly furious and unsure of herself.

 

Joshua’s big head swivelled as he looked from Max to Alec and back to Max again. He sniffed the air and caught the scent of Max’s anger, and something else. “Little Fella.” Max either didn’t hear or she took no notice. “Little Fella,” he called again and tugged on the sleeve of her jacket.

 

“Hmm?” Max said distractedly, unable to tear her gaze away from Alec and the blonde, who was still giggling like a twit at whatever Alec was saying to her. She pulled the girl’s name and designation from the dregs of her memory; X5-526, now known as Keela. ' _Keela? What kind of stupid name is that?'_  she thought spitefully. ' _Sounds like something you’d name a dog. Suits her though.'_

 

Joshua’s brow creased with worry; Max had a tendency not to think clearly when she was angry. “Max and Alec getting busy. THAT’S the plan,” he announced loudly in an attempt to reassure his troubled friend.

 

Max whipped her head around to stare, mortified, at Joshua.

 

“Keela want to get busy with Alec because Alec is alpha,” Joshua explained patiently. “But Alec not interested in Keela. Alec only wants Max. Just like Max only wants Alec. So Little Fella shouldn’t be jealous. Little Fella should trust Alec.” Satisfied with his explanation, Joshua patted Max on the shoulder and left the table.

 

Max felt the blood staining her cheeks crimson. She stared stiffly straight ahead, unwilling to meet anyone’s eyes. On the edge of her vision she could see the huge grin on Mole’s face and the curious stares directed her way from the adjacent tables. She prayed uselessly for the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

 

Joshua ambled across the crowded mess hall to join Alec and Keela. He smiled amiably at Keela and then leaned in slightly to sniff at Alec.

 

“What? I showered,” Alec said defensively, his hands raised to ward off the big dog-man.

 

Joshua just grinned in approval at Alec; his sensitive canine nose caught the tell-tale scent of arousal coming from Keela, but nothing but soap and shampoo from Alec. “Little Fella needs to talk to Alec now.”

 

“So she does,” Alec agreed, ignoring the slight pout on Keela’s face at the mention of Max. From the look of things Max was ready to explode, and if she didn’t have a certain smart-aleck there to vent her anger on she’d most likely rip into some unsuspecting and undeserving soul. Nodding politely to Keela, Alec took advantage of Joshua’s arrival to extricate himself from the blonde’s rather persistent – and unwelcome – flirting.

 

“You’re late,” Max barked as he approached.

 

Alec dropped into the chair opposite Max and tilted it backwards, balancing it on its hind legs. “Good morning to you too, sunshine,” he said cheerily.

 

The black look she sent his way would do a storm cloud proud. “Honestly Alec, do you not understand the concept of punctuality? We’re trying to save the world from mass destruction here. You’d think even you could haul your lazy ass outta bed for that one.”

 

“Maybe I just need a little incentive.” Alec winked suggestively.

 

“Fine,” Max said with a sweet smile. “How about tomorrow I send Mole to drag you outta bed and march you across the quad. Naked.”

 

Alec shrugged nonchalantly. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

 

Max blinked in surprise. “You streaked the quad?!” she asked incredulously. She held up her hand in an imperious gesture, cutting Alec off before he could do more than draw breath to tell the story. “Never mind. I don’t even wanna know.”

 

“You sure, Maxie? It’s a great story. It’s all about me and my naked ass,” he wheedled. “And we both know how obsessed you are with that particular part of my anatomy.” His lips curled into his trademark smirk.

 

Max huffed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself, pretty boy.”

 

“C’mon, Maxie. You know you want me bad.” His eyes silently reminded her of that morning, daring her to admit it publicly.

 

Max wasn’t about to give the eavesdropping transgenics the satisfaction. She could feel their eyes on her, boring into her back like red-hot needles. “As if,” she scoffed. “You’re nothing but a stray that followed me home.” She dropped her gaze, feeling guilty for denying him. “And don’t call me Maxie,” she tacked on as an after-thought.

 

“Aww, Maxie, I know you don’t mean it.” As usual, Alec ignored the warning about her childhood nickname. He pouted in that forlorn, little boy way of his that made Max melt inside.

 

“Yes I do,” she insisted, none too forcibly.

 

“Really.” Alec chuckled. “So how’s the weather in Egypt?”

 

“Huh?” Max crinkled her forehead in confused annoyance at the question that seemed to come out of nowhere. Even for Alec, that was a random topic shift.

 

Alec just shook his head in mock disappointment. “Still in denial, aren’t we Max?”

 

“I am not!” Max denied hotly.

 

Feeling the need to push the issue, Alec glanced down at the empty breakfast dishes littering the table and then back to Max. He rubbed his hands together briskly and smirked, a cheeky twinkle in his hazel eyes. “So where’s the coffee and doughnuts? I worked up quite an appetite after our... early morning ‘callisthenics’.”

 

Max flushed crimson for the second time that morning. Her hand flew out to smack the side of his head but he caught and held her wrist before she could connect. Annoyed, she kicked at his chair under the table, forcing Alec to release her arm and grab the edge of the table to keep from tipping backwards onto his ass.

 

“Geez, Max, you really should think about getting some sleep. You know, so you can get up on the right side of the bed for a change.” He forced a laugh, but there was an odd look behind his eyes that Max failed to notice. He quickly adopted a thoughtful expression. “Course, you’d probably better ask Josh for somewhere else to bunk down, if you actually plan on sleeping.”

 

Max balled her fists, just about ready to throttle him senseless. Between his cocky, you-know-what-I’m-talking-about smirk and Joshua’s little ‘announcement’, there wouldn’t be a transgenic or transhuman who didn’t know their leader was getting it on with Manticore’s very own Don Juan. She was more embarrassed than she had ever been in her life, including that horrible night she told Logan about her Heat cycles. As far as she was concerned, whatever she and Alec did in private was exactly that... private. And neither he nor anyone else had the right to turn her sex life into fodder for public amusement.

 

Her eyes blazed with a curious mix of anger, humiliation, and what might possibly be regret. Small frissons of fear ran down Alec’s spine to see that look directed at him. ' _What the hell did I do to piss her off that much?'_  he wondered. ' _I’ve only been in the room ten minutes!'_  His gaze drifted, his eyes slightly out of focus, as he wracked his brain to uncover whatever he did or didn’t do that had Max so mad at him.

 

Max tightened her fists to the point where her nails dug painfully into her palms. Alec wasn’t even paying attention to her; he was too busy scanning the crowd, checking out the girls. The very beautiful, very hot, and no doubt very willing, transgenic females. ' _Hello... girlfriend sitting right here!'_  her mental self huffed and waved her hand at him. Just because the bimbos he dated before let him get away with that didn’t mean she was about to.

 

Max opened her mouth to rip him a new one but was distracted by a sudden commotion at the front of the room. Jondy careened through the mess hall doors, skidding on the slick floor and nearly overbalancing when she stopped too fast. “MAX!” she shouted, her face split into a huge grin. “Max, they’re here!” She ignored the curious and slightly hostile stares sent her way from around the room. As far as she was concerned, they were a surly bunch. The only one who was at all friendly to her was Max’s tame werewolf, Joshua.

 

Three X5s – a petite blond with a no-nonsense attitude, a male version of Max, and a softer, more cheerful-looking version of Zack – hurried into the mess hall on Jondy’s heels.

 

Max’s face lit up with joy. Without a word to her dining companions she launched herself out of her chair and blurred across the room into her family’s waiting arms.

 

“What is this, a military strike force or an O’Niner convention?” Mole grumbled around his ever-present cigar.

 

Alec shrugged indifferently. His eyes met Jondy’s across the room. She said something to Max, and Alec saw her nod and shrug. She didn’t even bother to turn around and signal for him to join them. ' _And there it is. I’m now officially invisible,'_  he thought glumly. Alec pushed back his chair and got to his feet; suddenly he wasn’t hungry anymore. “I’m outta here,” he informed Mole.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Get outta my face already. I’m sick of lookin’ at ya.” Mole waved his cigar in Max’s general direction. “Don’ worry, I’ll keep princess away from ya.”

 

Alec sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Max was still the centerpiece of the family hug, and it didn’t look like she had any intention of budging. “Somehow I doubt you’ll have to.” Forcing a casual smile to camouflage his disappointment, he stepped into the crowd at the back of the mess hall and vanished.

 

Mole stared contemplatively at Max and her nauseatingly huggy siblings for several seconds, and then got to his feet and strolled towards them. His trusty shotgun was propped up on one shoulder, as always.

 

The smaller of the two males – the only one who looked like he might actually be related to Max – turned pale under his olive skin when he caught sight of the lizard man. The bigger male instinctively stepped between Jondy and Mole, his weight balanced on the balls of his feet though his hands remained by his sides. All four of Max’s siblings stared at Mole like he was some horror movie monster come to life. Mole found it rather amusing. He half-considered shouting ‘boo!’ at them just to see them jump, but then suppressed the urge; Alec warned him to play nice with the Niners, and somehow he doubted that intentionally inducing heart attacks counted as ‘nice’.

 

Max’s eyes slid past Mole and scanned the crowd. Disappointed, she turned back to Mole, her forehead creased with a frown. “Where’s Alec?”

 

Mole shrugged nonchalantly. Like he was going to tell her the truth; she hadn’t even noticed when Alec bailed. “Gone. Busy. He’s in the weapons locker, counting guns and ammo.”

 

“Oh.” Max pulled a face. If she had her way they wouldn’t bother with guns at all.

 

Mole clamped his teeth around his cigar to keep back the guffaw that threatened to burst out of him. Alec wasn’t going anywhere near the weapons locker today, and judging from the look on her face, neither was Max. He made a mental note to inform Alec; the weapons locker would be an ideal location to hide out whenever Max went on the warpath. Which seemed to happen with almost clockwork regularity.

 

Mole’s lips twitched into a smile. He would obey her because Alec ordered him to, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t yank her chain while he was at it.

 

“What’re you smiling about?” Max asked suspiciously.

 

“Nothing,” Mole said guilelessly. “I got X5s to order around, X6s to terrorize... it’s a good day.” He nodded politely and wandered off, whistling tunelessly.

 

Max stared at Mole’s retreating back. ' _If Alec didn’t vouch for him...'_  She shrugged off Mole’s eccentricities and smiled up at her family.

 

Syl glanced expectantly around the mess hall and then turned to Max, perplexed. “Maxie, where’s Logan?”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Several hours later Max walked into the HQ briefing room in search of Dix, digital camera in hand. She found him hunched over his computer, peering intently at the gibberish that filled the screen. He blinked owlishly at her with eyes that were red-rimmed and lined by heavy black bags. He was paler than normal, if that were even possible for a hairless albino.

 

' _Hmm. Give him three days of stubbleage and a real pair of glasses and he’d look like Logan in one of his save-the-world-by-Tuesday dealios.'_  Max suppressed a tiny, hysterical giggle at the mental image. She was spending too much time with Alec; his irreverence was starting to rub off on her.

 

“More runes? Great!” Dix exclaimed with more enthusiasm than anyone should be able to muster on as little sleep as he’d had in the past two days.

 

Max gave him a sour smile. “Oh yeah. It’s all good. Because God knows I just looove being a walking Etch-a-Sketch.”

 

Dix’s smile faltered and he shifted his weight awkwardly in his chair. “Sorry, Max. It’s just, the more runes we have the sooner we can figure out what’s going to happen and then-”

 

“I know, Dix,” Max said tiredly. She made a real effort to bite back her bitterness; it was hardly Dix’s fault and she didn’t want to alienate him, seeing that he was one of the few Manticorians who was genuinely friendly to her. “Sorry. I’m just kinda weirded out by everything.”

 

Max kept her eyes locked on the far wall while Dix snapped photo after photo of her inner forearm. Four large squiggles appeared there sometime after breakfast; the first since Dix’s bombshell announcement the day before. The urge to scrape her nails across her skin and obliterate all traces of the runes was almost overpowering. She hated them with every fibre of her genetically engineered body.

 

It was one thing when she believed she was some kind of sacred, special being – mistakenly as it turned out, though given the pattern of her life she didn’t know why she was surprised that Fate found yet another way to play mind games with her. Before she found out the truth about her so-called ‘perfect DNA’ she could justify the runes as a necessary evil, something that might give her an edge over White and his loony-tune friends. She could tolerate them, if just barely. But everything was different now.

 

' _Why the hell did Sandeman pick me? Why not Sam, or my stupid X7 clone? Why did it hafta be me?'_  Max sighed bitterly and scanned the room for Alec in the hope he’d snuck in while her back was turned, but he was nowhere in sight. He wasn’t in his office and he wasn’t out checking the perimeter either; she knew because she’d just spent a fruitless half hour searching for him. She wanted him to be the one to photograph her runes, needing to hear from him that everything would be alright. She actually believed it when HE said it.

 

But no one had seen him since breakfast, or if they had they weren’t telling her. It was hard not to conclude that he was avoiding her, which wasn’t helping her already crappy mood any. And part of her couldn’t help but wonder who he was with, when he wasn’t with her.

 

' _Ease up, Max. You’re overreacting. It’s just hormones and stress,'_  she told herself firmly, forcing aside her doubts. ' _Alec’s not on the prowl anymore.'_  In fact, Alec hadn’t gone to bed with a single girl – except for her – since they fled Seattle, and it certainly wasn’t for lack of opportunities. Max sighed and pressed cool fingers to her temples in a vain attempt to ease the pressure behind her tired and scratchy eyes. ' _Maybe he’s right, maybe I do need some sleep.'_

 

Her lips twitched into a grim smile. ' _Now that Joshua dropped the bomb, maybe the little sluts will stay away from Alec.'_  Or maybe she’d just have to introduce them to her fist. Whatever.

 

But first she had to teach Alec not to avoid her.

 

With determination in every stride Max stomped over to Mole, fully intending to get a straight answer from the taciturn lizard even if she had to beat it out of him. “Mole! Where’s Alec?” She planted her hands on her hips and stared at him crossly, one booted foot tapping the floor.

 

“Told ya already,” Mole replied casually, without looking up at her. His hands continued to rub down the barrel of the Ruger KP97 he was diligently cleaning, in total disregard of her presence.

 

“No, you gave me a punk-ass answer. Now I want the truth.”

 

Mole snorted. “Whatever, princess.”

 

“I’m not in the mood, Mole,” Max warned. “Tell me. Now.”

 

Mole just shrugged; he promised himself he’d watch Alec’s back when it came to the temperamental brunette, and he wasn’t about to give her yet another reason to lecture Alec.

 

Max shoved him into the back of his chair and pushed her face into his. “I asked you a question or don’t you remember how to take orders, soldier?”

 

“That’s rich, coming from a Niner,” Mole snapped back, goaded by the implication behind her words. Who was she to talk about taking orders like a good little solder? “I take orders from someone who knows how to give ’em.”

 

“What’s the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“It means what it means. You’re a NINER.” He spat the word out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. Tired of biting his forked tongue, Mole gave into the irresistible impulse to finally tell Max the ugly truth. “You ran. You couldn’t cut it. You don’t have a fucking clue what you’re doing, but somehow you think you got the right to tell the rest of us how to play soldier.” His lip curled in disgust.

 

A surge of anger swept through her, raising the hackles on the back of her neck. Max didn’t take criticism well, which was ironic considering how much practice she had at it as a child. “And I suppose you think you could do a better job. That’s what this little tantrum of yours is really all about, isn’t it Mole? You’re pissed the X-series won’t take orders from a nomalie.”

 

“I’m no nomalie, sweetheart. But I’m starting to think YOU are. At least I know I’M not cut out to play general. But yeah, I think I could do a better job if I had to. Hell, even an X6 could! They got more training than you.”

 

“While we’re on the subject of character faults, let’s discuss yours, shall we?” Max snarled. “Insubordination, disloyalty, hotheadedness...” She held up one hand and ticked her points off on her fingers.

 

Mole snorted in derision. “That’s rich, coming from a Niner. Pot calling the kettle black, wouldn’t you say?”

 

“I’m only gonna ask once more. Where. Is. Alec?” A tense silence descended over the room as Max and Mole locked gazes. Joshua threw a concerned glance at Dix but Dix just shook his head solemnly; Max had to win this on her own or give up all pretence at leadership. Joshua whined and shifted his weight anxiously, but refrained from physically snatching Max away from Mole.

 

After an eternity, Mole shrugged. Alec would be pissed if he didn’t show throat to Max, and Mole had no desire to deal with a truly pissed-off Alec. “He’s out checking the town where most of Manticore’s support staff lived. Figures he might find something useful.”

 

“What?!” Max shivered in fear and took a deep breath to calm herself. “Tell me the idiot took back-up with him.” Her voice came dangerously close to pleading. 

 

“Why the hell would he do that?” Mole looked genuinely puzzled.

 

Max stared at Mole, aghast. ' _Alec’s out there alone? Without back-up?!'_  Her eyes slid shut. Horrific images danced against her closed eyelids; Alec lying dead in a puddle of blood... Alec strapped to a metal gurney, at the mercy of White and his knives and his tazers and his fanatical cruelty... Alec’s empty eyes staring at nothing, his neck broken and twisted... “That idiot,” she breathed. “Is he trying to get himself killed?”

 

Mole caught the look of fear on Max’s face, and suddenly he was angry beyond reason with her. “What, you think he’s gonna screw this up? You think he can’t cross the street without you to hold his hand? What the fuck do you know? The only time he messes up is when he’s around YOU, because he’s too busy watching your six to look after his own.”

 

“Oh so it’s MY fault Alec’s a screw up?!” Max asked incredulously.

 

“Didn’t you hear me? 494 doesn’t screw up and he doesn’t need back up. He works best alone. All the twins do. Must be all that time they spent in solitary, thanks to you.” Mole narrowed his eyes to yellow slits. “You really think you’re something special, don’t you? Because you escaped while the rest of us poor schmucks stayed and did as we were told.”

 

“It’s not like we had a choice. They were killing us!” Max protested vehemently. “We HAD to get out. And we didn’t know they’d punish you.”

 

“Bullshit. You knew. Manticore was always big on group consequences. They punished the entire squad if even a single soldier made a mistake. So don’t tell me you didn’t know there’d be hell to pay, or that we’d be the ones paying it. You just didn’t care because we weren’t part of your precious family.”

 

“We didn’t know!” Max insisted, more to convince herself than Mole.

 

Mole leaped to his feet, too angry to sit still. His eyes burned like yellow coals through the smoke that wreathed his head. Max swallowed hard. She had a sneaking suspicion she didn’t want to hear whatever it was Mole seemed determined to tell her.

 

“They tightened the leash after you cowards bolted for the hills. Lockdown, solitary, reindoctrination... they got pretty inventive too. Not everyone survived. And your twins got the worst of it. They were constantly monitored for any signs of ‘aberrant behaviour’. And if they messed up...” A shadow passed over Mole’s eyes. “Do you have any idea how many punishment techniques they perfected using the twins as guinea pigs?”

 

Max paled. Alec’s grim words echoed in her ears.  _‘You think life was rough when we were ten? A little schooling, a little brainwashing, some maneuvers outside? You think that was tough? Later on, it got a whole lot worse.’_

 

“They were pulled from their units, did’ja know that?” Mole growled. “Your twins. The doctors cleared them for active duty, after SIX MONTHS of Psy Ops and another three in Reindoc. But the top brass, they didn’t trust them. Because genetically, they’re you. And the brass didn’t want to risk the twins turning traitor and spreading dissention in the ranks. So they pulled them from their units and forced them into Solo Ops, whether they were designed for it or not.”

 

Max flinched but forced herself to meet Mole’s challenging stare. She squared her shoulders and straightened her spine, unconsciously retreating into the ‘at attention’ posture that was the refuge of every soldier. Her face was a blank mask, but guilt lurked in the depths of her eyes.

 

Mole noted the guilt with satisfaction, and allowed himself a tiny feeling of respect for Max for refusing to buckle in front of him. She had grit, if nothing else. He loomed over the petite X5, determined to make her listen and understand. “494... he excelled at Solo Ops. The perfect assassin. Manticore’s superstar. He got access to training the rest of us weren’t cleared for. He got to go Outside. Not just on combat maneuvers – getting dumped in a hot zone in some godforsaken republic in the back of nowhere – but extended missions in the real world. And for each successful kill, he got special privileges. But none of that helped him when his twin went psycho. Then it was back to good ol’ Psy Ops, for something HE... DIDN’T... DO.” Mole punctuated each word with a stab of his cigar. Blue smoke curled around her face, stinging her eyes.

 

Ben’s face flashed across Max’s vision. She shivered as she recalled the look in his eyes when she found him standing over Father Destry, like some big game hunter with his prize kill. His eyes burned with a fervent, misplaced religious conviction that was both deadly and uncontrollable. Manticore tore Alec apart because of that look in Ben’s eyes.

 

“But he beat them at their own game,” Mole continued. A note of admiration crept into his gruff voice. “He survived. Our equivalent of a giant ‘fuck you’ to Manticore. He was a discipline problem, in and out of solitary and lockdown like clockwork, but they never decommissioned him. He was too good.”

 

Max opened her mouth to protest then closed it with a snap. The only mission she ever heard Alec failed was the Berrisford assignment, but he failed that one because he tried to do the right thing, not because he screwed up at his job. Suddenly she wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Did she even know the real Alec at all?

 

“We looked up to 494. He was a legend.”

 

“A legend? You shoved a gun in his face the first time he stepped foot in Terminal City,” Max protested weakly, more out of the habit of being contrary than any true conviction. “Joshua told me so.”

 

“I said he was a legend. Didn’t say I could pick the guy out of a line up. Freaks and Xs were segregated, remember?” Mole paused and then shrugged. No sense stopping now. “You wanna be our leader? Fine. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. But don’t play general. Not if you want to win this little war of yours. Leave it to the real soldiers. And for the record, Alec’s the reason we’re all here. Without him, you got nothing. So keep that in mind when you’re barking orders at us.” He turned away in disgust.

 

Max grabbed Mole by the arm and swung him around to face her again. “I want to be informed the second Alec returns,” she ordered quietly.

 

Mole shrugged. “Yes ma’am.” His voice was faintly mocking.

 

She nodded curtly and marched from the room with measured, even steps. Her head buzzed noisily with everything Mole said about Alec... and about her.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Daylight was fading by the time Alec returned to Manticore. The trees guarding the perimeter fence shivered in the cool evening breeze, their leaves rimmed with orange fire by the last rays of the setting sun. Alec passed through the woods unchallenged by the sentries and stopped beneath a massive, moss-shrouded tree. A landmark familiar to every transgenic from countless war games, its gnarled branches resembled nothing so much as a hand clawing at the sky.

 

Alec smiled fondly. This was his favourite spot for midnight trysts, back in the days when Manticore was home and only the hours after lights out were his to do as he pleased. Hours usually spent in illicit rendezvous and black market deals.

 

He raised his fist lazily in signal. Dalton dropped to the ground from the tree limb he’d perched on. His knees bent deeply to absorb the impact; X6s were less agile by far than X5s. Less feline DNA in the X6 cocktail meant fewer complications from the gene splicing technique – such as the seizures that plagued the earlier generations – but it also meant reduced speed, strength, and agility. X6s surpassed humans as ground troops, but compared to the predatory X5s they were tame house cats. Physically, X7s were the strongest and fastest of the X-series, but they were unable to function independently of the hive mind. X5s, the last series created by Dr. Sandeman himself, would forever be Manticore’s most perfect soldiers.

 

“Hey, Alec.” Dalton resisted the urge to snap to attention in front of his commanding officer. He shoved his hands deep in his jean pockets and slouched, his posture a mirror image of his hero’s. “Perimeter secure, sir. No unauthorized personnel within the safe zone. Ten more squads returned to base and were cleared for active duty.” He grinned. “We’re gonna run outta non-charred beds soon.”

 

“Oh don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find the mess hall floor more than comfortable,” Alec deadpanned. Dalton had a point though; they were almost back at capacity and most of the barracks were uninhabitable. He shrugged mentally. Finding enough bunks for everyone was the least of their problems. What they needed now was the right equipment, a battle plan, and a target.

 

He smiled enticingly at Dalton. “Got a new job for ya, Dalt. Go to the barracks and roust me up a squad of 6s,” he ordered. “I need mules to help me salvage supplies from town. Pick whoever you want. Your call.” He’d discovered a veritable gold mine of useful things in town. Apparently White’s clean up duties for the government hadn’t extended beyond eliminating Manticore’s staff to include packing up their belongings.

 

Dalton brightened visibly at the prospect of working alongside Alec, even if it was just grunt work. “Cool.”

 

“Don’t thank me yet,” Alec warned. “You’ll be hauling shit all night. And even transgenics get stiff muscles and sore backs sometimes.”

 

Dalton shrugged, his enthusiasm undeterred. “S’ok. Beats standing around here watching moss grow.”

 

They exchanged knowing grins. Sentry duty was the bane of every soldier’s existence, but particularly the revved-up soldier’s. Maybe that was why the X7s were always so bad-tempered whenever they caught an X out of bounds. Or maybe that nastiness was just something in their cocktail – essence of Renfro perhaps?

 

Alec raised one eyebrow. “Uh, Dalton? You’re still here. The barracks are thatta way.” Alec pointed over Dalton’s shoulder. “So bip bip already.”

 

“Bip, sir?” Dalton’s forehead creased in confusion. “I’m sorry sir, but I don’t know what that means.” His head drooped in shame for letting Alec down.

 

Alec couldn’t believe that hated word actually passed his lips. He’d obviously spent way too much time hanging out with Normal. “Never mind,” he laughed and waved it off. “Neither does anyone else. Just go, I’ll catch up. And don’t call me ‘sir’,” he ordered as the younger transgenic obediently turned to leave. “Fuck their rules. We’re not at Manticore anymore.”

 

Dalton glanced pointedly at the Manticore facility behind him. Grinning cheekily, he snapped off a salute. “Yes sir!” Unable to jump the perimeter fence the way an X5 could, he climbed it spider-like and scampered off into the gloom.

 

Alec sighed wearily. ' _Was I ever that eager to please a ranking officer?'_  he wondered. ' _Maybe once... before Psy Ops and Reindoc.'_  He closed his eyes. Turning his face to the wind, he let it blow away his dark thoughts. Then he slipped on his trademark grin; he had a compound of transgenics to perform for, all of them looking to him for reassurance.

 

He jumped the fence with a grace and power his younger counterparts envied, and headed across the compound towards HQ. Mole would be grateful for an excursion off-base, and Max needed to be informed of their status.

 

That was one conversation he was not looking forward to having. He’d vanished for the day without a word and no doubt Max would take that as a personal insult, further proof that he was fundamentally unreliable. As if he’d really just bugger off on personal business. People were relying on him, and it felt good. He belonged here; he finally had a mission where the faces of his victims wouldn’t plague his dreams. He hadn’t felt like that since before he met Rachel. She’d changed him from the mindless drone X5-494 without her even realizing it. Loving her made him see how very wrong Manticore was. But Max didn’t understand that; she thought Rachel was the only ghost to haunt him.

 

Alec felt a sharp surge of irritation at Max’s blindness. Max STILL thought of him in terms of the ‘happy-go-lucky sociopath’ persona he’d adopted when he first got out and was struggling to understand the rules of his new life. It rankled that she expected so little of him, even now when everything had changed between them. Behaving like a playah didn’t make him one.

 

He paused on the threshold and quickly scanned the interior of the room – standard procedure in his line of work. The tension radiating from the room was palpable; it made the short hairs above his barcode stand up in alarm. Max had positioned herself with a clear view of the door. Her arms and legs were crossed and one foot tapped impatiently on the floor. A sullen pout marred her full lips.

 

Her four siblings sat in a loose huddle around her. ' _Shit.'_  Alec groaned. He knew Max would be annoyed at him for leaving base without clearance, but he hadn’t anticipated her brining along reinforcements to hold him down while she beat the crap out of him.

 

He ran a professional eye over her family, his soldier’s mind automatically classing them into the divisions they would have been assigned to, had they stayed long enough for their training to progress beyond basic combat maneuvers. X-series soldiers were designed with specific tasks in mind, their physical type dictating their usefulness to Manticore.

 

Zane was heavily muscled, like his big brother Zack; both of them built specifically for front-line combat where their extra inches and bulk would give them the advantage in a fight. Syl was the ordinance expert, to judge by the hungry stare she gave Mole’s arsenal. Krit was slender, almost dainty for a man; his was the advantage of speed and agility. Like Max and the petite Jondy, he was meant for stealth and reconnaissance.

 

Alec suspected Max’s little entourage would be par for the course from here on in. Well, he really wasn’t in the mood to indulge her in an en mass Alec-bashing right now. Let her wait a little longer. He sauntered straight past Max to where Mole laid claim to the far end of the long table. The lizard-man’s scuffed combat boots rested on the table between the dismantled sections of the sniper rifle he was currently stripping and refitting. Parts belonging to assorted assault rifles, a handful of Claymore mines, and what looked like half a case of grenades was strewn over the floor and half the table.

 

Most likely the only reason Mole was willing to share oxygen with Max’s siblings right now was to keep Max from killing Alec outright.

 

“Well if it isn’t my favourite gecko,” Alec greeted Mole jauntily. He watched Max through his peripheral vision. By the look on her face she nearly swallowed her tongue when Alec just blithely ignored her. He grinned. It served her right. “So... how much do ya love me?”

 

“Not at all if you didn’t get me those cigars,” Mole replied gruffly. “I’m almost out.” He removed his current tobacco-flavoured pacifier from his mouth and held it up for inspection. It was smoked down to a mere stub.

 

Alec grinned and pulled a flat box from beneath his jacket and tossed it to Mole, who snatched it deftly from the air. “Awww, sugarplum,” Mole cooed, his face the picture of saurian bliss, “ain’t you sweet. Guess I won’t beat your ass to a bloody pulp after all.”

 

The sweet relief that had coursed through Max at the sight of Alec, safe and unharmed, was rapidly turning to anger. She was furious and hurt that she didn’t even warrant a ‘hello’ from him. Didn’t he know how worried she’d been? Or did he just not care? Her hands curled into tight fists. ' _I can’t believe he was out shopping for Mole’s stupid cigars!'_  she fumed. ' _How typical. Can anyone say ‘unnecessary exposure’?'_

 

She jumped to her feet, her chair scraping noisily across the floor, and stalked over to Alec. He braced himself for the inevitable punch, a familiar thrill of excitement thrumming through his veins. Max was never so alive nor so beautiful as when she was furious with him. Plus, it was the only time he seemed to have her undivided attention lately.

 

Foregoing subtlety, Max punched Alec in the gut. He doubled over, clutching his sore stomach. Pouting, he stared up at her reproachfully from beneath lowered lashes. Chagrin at hurting him warred with her anger and, as usual, anger won out. “Alec, you jerk! Where the hell have you been? I needed you HERE and where were you? Off on some stupid field trip all day! What the hell were you thinking? Oh, wait, let me guess. You weren’t, as usual. God, you’re such a jackass sometimes!”

 

Alec dropped the pouting act when it failed to have the desired effect. He rocked back on the balls of his feet and cocked his head to one side. “You know Maxie, you really need to expand your vocabulary. If you ask, I’m sure Mole would help you come up with some new insults.”

 

Mole grinned in evil delight. Alec could almost see the wheels churning in his scaly head. He pointed a warning finger at the lizard. “Only if she asks. And only if she says please.”

 

Max gaped at Alec, unable to believe he was ignoring her in the middle of a tirade. She smacked him across the shoulder. “Alec! Pay attention!”

 

His eyes obligingly snapped back to hers. He smirked. “Yes, ma’am?”

 

“Answer me! Where the hell have you been? And don’t tell me you spent all day scouting out some piddly little town for supplies.”

 

“Ohh-kaay,” he drawled. He pursed his lips and put on a thoughtful expression. “How bout next time you make me up some of those cute little cue cards, so I know what it is I’m s’posed to say. Save us some unnecessary punching and yelling.”

 

“You’ve been gone for hours!” she argued, ignoring his smart-aleck attempt to divert her.

 

He shrugged indifferently, unable to put into words the eerie feeling he’d had walking the deserted streets and finding the townsfolk’s personal belongings exactly where they left them when White and his NSA team came for them. He was swamped with sympathy and an uncomfortable sense of kinship. These people had worked for Manticore; they helped keep him a slave, helped torture him... and now they were just as dead or hunted as the transgenics themselves. He shrugged again, masking his emotions behind a smile. “I’m thorough.”

 

Max rolled her eyes in disbelief. Alec had the attention span of a gnat. “You were out there without back up.” In the back of her mind a tiny voice screamed that she was being horribly unfair to him – given everything Mole had told her just hours ago and everything she’d discovered for herself over the last few months – but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Old habits die hard, and it was easier to yell at him.

 

“Aww, Maxie. Were you worried about me?”

 

“Hello! We’re trying to keep a low profile here! You’re my second. You’re supposed to be setting an example, not going off half-cocked like some lone gunman. Who knows what could’ve happened?” She shivered at the thought, fear flooding through her veins like icy water.

 

“But, I’m good,” Alec protested, annoyed. Would she never stop underestimating him?

 

Exasperated by his cavalier attitude and needing to physically dominate him, Max shoved Alec backwards onto the table. She moved swiftly to stand between his legs to block his retreat. Latching onto the lapels of his leather jacket, she pushed her face close to his, her dark eyes flashing.

 

Alec stared at Max in amusement, not at all bothered by his awkward position. Quite deliberately he dropped his gaze and scanned the length of her body, pressed flush against his own from hip to chest. He wriggled slightly, his hips brushing against hers as he shifted position. Max felt an answering rush of desire.

 

Alec smirked, one eyebrow arched coyly. Max flushed red and concentrated on her anger, willing away her body’s untimely response. She was about to renew her lecture when Alec’s jeans suddenly began vibrating against her hip. Startled, Max froze, her eyes wide.

 

“Cell phone,” Alec said in explanation, bemused by the shock on Max’s face.

 

Max squirmed, both disconcerted and slightly aroused by the pulsing vibrations. Alec’s lips quirked into a knowing grin. “Max, sweetie, if I’m gonna answer that you gotta stop groping me.”

 

With an exaggerated huff Max pushed him away and stepped back. Alec fished his phone out of his pocket and hopped to his feet. He listened intently for several seconds, then mumbled a quick, “On our way.” He flashed an unapologetic grin at Max. “Duty calls, babe. I got a team waiting to unload supplies from town while it’s dark. Or did ya want me to stay here so you could ‘chastise’ me some more?” He bounced his eyebrows suggestively.

 

Max crossed her arms and stared fixedly at Alec. “I want you and your team back before dawn. Absolutely NO exposure, you got that? Don’t make me tattoo a reminder on your forehead.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Alec tossed her a jaunty two-fingered salute and sauntered from the room. Mole followed on his heels without so much as a perfunctory glance at Max for permission.

 

Max wrapped her arms around her ribs, not at all pleased with the way that went. She never knew whether to slap Alec or kiss him senseless. And to make matters worse, she could feel her siblings watching her with curious, prying eyes.

 


	12. Chapter 12

Jondy idly toyed with the food on her plate, her fork ploughing deep furrows through the re-hydrated potatoes and ‘mystery meat’ loaf. Though she made a valiant attempt not to stare, her attention kept wandering to a table in the corner where Alec was deep in conversation with several of Manticore’s more exotic creations.

 

Alec was an enigma Jondy couldn’t decipher. Max spent the better part of yesterday afternoon complaining that Alec was ‘genetically engineered to be a pain in the ass,’ and yet he was her first and only choice for second-in-command. He certainly had the troops’ respect; most of them were hard-pressed not to salute on sight. He even had control over the nomalies. Jondy shivered involuntarily. It seemed like every time she saw Ben’s twin he was surrounded by a crowd of genetic experiments gone awry. Like right now, for instance. Alec had walked past every other table in the mess hall in order to eat with Dog-boy, Godzilla, and their motley friends.

 

The freaky-looking lizard with the incongruous name gestured wildly, his cigar tracing smoke signals in the air. Alec slapped him on the shoulder and said something that made the whole table laugh. Jondy scowled and dropped her gaze. It felt wrong; X-series soldiers weren’t supposed to be friends with the nomalies. Especially not Ben’s twin.

 

Across the crowded mess hall, Alec pushed aside his half-eaten plate. His leg jiggled and bounced nervously under the table. He was uncomfortably aware that he was the object of the Niners’ scrutiny; he could sense their curious and disapproving stares from across the room. ' _What? I can’t have friends of my own because my clone was frightened of the monsters in the basement?'_  he thought crossly. ' _Screw you. I spent half my life down there too.'_

 

He wrenched his attention back to Mole’s ribald conversation, but missed the punch line when he caught sight of Max at the entrance. She smiled brightly at Alec and Joshua and moved forward to join them, until she caught sight of her siblings at the other end of the hall. She hesitated in mid-stride, visibly torn between her two families.

 

Joshua whimpered and looked down at his plate, his head drooping mournfully.

 

“Hey, what’s with the sad face, Big Fella?” Alec asked in a jovial tone, though he already knew the answer. Joshua wore that same scolded-puppy look whenever Max bailed on him during the long, lonely year he’d spent confined in his father’s house.

 

Joshua shrugged listlessly, his face hidden behind his long hair. “Little Fella’s old family afraid of what they don’t understand. Little Fella too busy to hang with Joshua. Not the plan.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Alec muttered. He stood and jerked his head towards the exit. “C’mon. Guns and bullets don’t count themselves. And I’m tired of being stared at like a prize bull at the county fair.”

 

Mole and Joshua followed in his wake as he navigated his way through the tables to Max’s side. She greeted him with a brilliant smile that reached her eyes and transformed her normally grouchy features. Alec felt his heart do somersaults. Why couldn’t she look at him that way more often?

 

“Hey,” Max said. “Leaving already?”

 

Alec shrugged nonchalantly. “What can I say, I’m a busy man.”

 

“Uh hun. Yeah. Conning the 6s into doing your work for you is sooo time consuming,” Max said sarcastically. “They’re as gullible as Sketchy.”

 

Alec clutched at his heart. “Maxie, that hurts, it really does. I’m a changed man. I’ve seen the error of my ways, learned the value of an honest day’s labour-”

 

“Oh, really?” Max arched one eyebrow. “And when was this, exactly? During those long, gruelling days when you delivered a SINGLE package in an 8-hour shift?”

 

Alec grinned. “Like you wouldn’t have. Too bad for you Normal liked me best.”

 

Max smiled sweetly. “I got two words for you, pretty boy. Gladiator suit.”

 

Alec shuddered. “Ugh. Thanks Max. Ruin my hard-won repression, why don’t you.”

 

“Well, yeah,” Max laughed. “It’s funny.”

 

“Uh, no. No, funny is the one thing it’s not. Try disturbing, creepy, obsessive...” Alec paused and tipped his head to one side and pursed his lips in an expression of deep thought. “Mind you, with an ass like mine you can hardly blame the guy.”

 

Max rolled her eyes. “Honestly Alec, you spend more time thinking about your ass than I do.”

 

“Aha!” Alec crowed. “So you admit that you fantasize about my ass.”

 

“What?! That’s not what I said.” Max glared at Alec and tried to ignore the fact her cheeks were turning scarlet. Alec smirked broadly. Behind him, Mole wore an identical expression. Even Joshua was grinning at her. “Shut up,” she ordered grumpily. “Unless you want to wear your ass for a hat.”

 

Alec wisely changed topics. “Supply team’s due back soon. We’re just gonna go check on the merchandise.”

 

“I could come with,” Max offered, but her eyes flicked past him towards the food and then her siblings. Her stomach growled loudly.

 

Alec waved her off. He wasn’t about to insist on her company when she was clearly less than enthusiastic about the prospect. “Nah. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“You sure?”

 

Alec raised an eyebrow. “Max, we’re checking items off a list. I think Mole and I can handle it.”

 

“Aiight.” Max grinned, relieved. Inventory bored her to tears, though part of her felt she ought to be doing something more constructive with her time than simply waiting for more runes to appear. Despite assuming the leadership, she had very little actual work to do.

 

Alec hid his disappointment behind a bland smile, but Max caught him at it. Annoyed, she punched him.

 

“Ow!” Alec complained and rubbed his shoulder, his face screwed up in a pout. “What was that for?”

 

“You’re avoiding me.”

 

“Am not,” he protested. “You were late, and contrary to popular rumour that’s not ALWAYS my fault. Besides, you’re the one who didn’t come home to our bed last night.”

 

“Oh, was there something special there for me?” she teased.

 

Alec’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly. So Max thought she could just use him as a sex toy whenever it was convenient for her, did she? And never acknowledge him publicly as her mate?

 

It was time to change the rules of the game.

 

Alec stepped forward into Max’s personal space. Brilliant green eyes locked with brown, and the intensity of his stare held Max captive. One hand dropped to her hip and pulled her flush against him while the other hand gently trailed up her arm to the back of her neck, raising goose bumps on her skin. “Mmm-hmmm,” he murmured deeply, almost a purr. His warm breath washed over her and sent shivers up and down her spine.

 

Max leaned into his touch, her knees suddenly weak and trembling. Alec smiled lazily and licked his lips. Max forgot about the room and everyone in it as his lips descended towards hers. Heart racing, her lips parted slightly in anticipation.

 

But the kiss never came. Alec tilted his head at the last second and whispered in her ear, “See ya tonight, Maxie.” He nipped her earlobe. A tiny gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it. Without warning he released her, causing her to stumble back slightly. He smirked at the dazed look on her face and then side-stepped her and headed for the doors.

 

Max swivelled her head to watch Alec as he sauntered across the room, and consequently missed both the amused look Mole’s face and Joshua’s encouraging nod. She sighed as Alec vanished from her sight. The volume in the room returned to normal levels, and it suddenly dawned on her that she was standing in the middle of the crowded mess hall staring after Alec with a dreamy expression on her face.

 

Blushing furiously, she hurried over to her siblings’ table and slid into the empty seat next to Zane. He grinned at her and pushed a full plate in front of her, just like he used to when they were kids and she was late for meals. “Here, saved you some. Thought our fearless leader might be hungry.”

 

“Thanks, Zane.” Max smiled gratefully at him and began to eat.

 

Syl leaned across the table towards Max with a curious gleam in her eyes. “So Maxie, just how serious are things between you and Ben’s twin?”

 

“ALEC,” Max interrupted fiercely, her dark eyes flashing. “His name’s ALEC. Not ‘Ben’s twin.’ Got it?” She glared pointedly at each of her siblings in turn. Syl raised her hands in a conciliatory gesture. “And yeah, we’re kinda... involved.”

 

“Yeah, we figured that already, the way you were groping him yesterday. Just can’t keep your hands to yourself huh, baby sis?” Syl had been waiting impatiently since yesterday for the chance to tease her about Alec – Max had fled the briefing room almost on Alec’s heels, and hadn’t surfaced again until now.

 

“So THAT’S why you missed the sunrise yesterday,” Jondy guessed, her eyes widening as comprehension dawned on her. “I wondered what happened to you. You could’ve just told me you were with pretty boy, instead of hiding it.” Jondy offered Max a polite half-smile, all traces of the hurt she felt carefully ironed out of her expression, but inside she was unreasonably disappointed. As children they could finish each other’s thoughts, but adult Max was a stranger to her; she was harder, more stubborn, less trusting than she used to be.

 

Max bristled at the implied criticism; it bruised her already guilty conscience for keeping Alec secret from Jondy. She shrugged one shoulder indifferently. “I s’pose I should’ve said something sooner. Sorry. My bad. But I really wasn’t in the mood for a lecture on the evils of sleeping with our dead brother’s twin. So don’t even start on me with the whole ‘incest’ refrain. I DON’T wanna hear it. Alec’s NOT our brother.” Max tossed her hair over her shoulder and stared at her siblings defiantly.

 

“Incest?!!” Syl sighed audibly. “I love ya baby sis, but sometimes you take yourself waaay too seriously.” Off Max’s indignant look, Syl rolled her eyes and said, “It’s not like ANY of us are actually related. Well, except for you and Krit. Now THAT would be ‘ew!’ But Alec?” She shrugged. “He’s hot.”

 

Krit gave Syl a mock-suspicious glare. “Do I hafta be jealous of our dead brother’s twin now?”

 

“Oh, puh-leeze.” Syl rolled her eyes. “Alec’s so into Max I seriously doubt he knows there are other girls walking the planet.”

 

“How would you know?” Krit’s forehead creased in confusion. “The guy’s been avoiding us.”

 

Max stiffened. ' _Yeah, Syl, how DO you know? You only got here yesterday. What do you see that I don’t?'_  She kept her eyes on her plate and mechanically shovelled food into her mouth, though she didn’t taste any of it and couldn’t say what it was if asked. She listened for Syl’s response with bated breath.

 

“I have eyes, don’t I? I’ve seen the way he looks at her. He always knows exactly where she is in the room. And he gets this look in his eyes when he thinks no one’s watching him.” Syl shrugged one shoulder. “It’s obvious. He’s in love with Max.”

 

Krit gave her a blank, uncomprehending look. “What are you talking about? What look?”

 

Syl let out an exasperated huff. “Men. If it doesn’t have boobs, a trigger, or a stick-shift, it doesn’t exist.”

 

“Hey, on behalf of men everywhere I resent that,” Krit said sulkily.

 

“Whatever.” Syl swallowed a heaping forkful of meatloaf and pulled a face. “Blech. I forgot how disgusting this crap was.” Her fork dropped with a clatter onto her plate. She tugged on Krit’s sleeve and made puppy eyes at him. “Kriiit," she sing-songed, "Go get me a burger.”

 

Max bit back a smile and hid her face behind the curtain of her hair. The sound of her siblings’ arguing faded into the background. She pushed her plate aside, unable to eat another bite past her stomach that suddenly took up lodging in her throat.

 

' _Alec loves... me? ME?'_  Her heart thudded erratically in her chest and a giddy feeling she almost didn’t recognize as happiness welled up inside of her. Then, unbidden, an image of Alec lying stricken and inconsolable over Rachel’s comatose form sprang into her mind, and her brief moment of bliss vanished. ' _Alec loves Rachel. Even Manticore couldn’t make him forget her. He kept her locket for two years. He’s in love with HER, not me... Isn’t he? Or is he? He’s always around. He never leaves, not even when I’m horrible to him. Shit, I don’t know.'_  Max leapt to her feet. She had to find him. Now. She had to see that so-called ‘look’ in his eyes for herself.

 

“I gotta bounce,” she announced breathlessly. She neither noticed nor cared that her siblings’ were watching her with identical, bemused expressions. “I, um, I got this... thing I gotta go do. Later.” She whirled away and hurried across the mess hall and out the doors, her heart thudding erratically in her ears.

 

Max was halfway across the quad before she realized she had no idea where to find Alec. She squinted up into the sunlight, as if the answer might be written up there on a giant billboard. ' _Think, Max. Think! If I was Alec, where would I be? Well, that’s obvious – the nearest bar. Only... there isn’t one.'_  Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. ' _Unless Alec conveniently forgot to mention...'_  She dismissed the idea with a toss of her head. ' _No way. Even Alec’s not that reckless, not when the apocalypse is in like three days. Ok, somewhere with a TV maybe? No wait, he said he had work to do. Something about supplies.'_  She screwed up her face in concentration. ' _Damn. I knew I shoulda paid more attention when Renfro gave me the grand tour last summer. Where the hell is the friggin’ weapons’ locker?'_

 

She spun in a circle, examining her surroundings, and then set off in what she hoped was the right direction. So absorbed was she in her thoughts that she nearly collided with the broad back of a male X5 when she rounded a corner. Startled, she glanced up to see a large crowd gathered around the sparring ground. Curious as to why so many transgenics would stop to watch something as commonplace as a sparring match, Max sidled through the crowd and craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the combatants.

 

Three X5s occupied the sparring ground – Finn, a sturdy male with a mop of unruly ginger hair and a smattering of freckles across his nose; Reina, a petite Asian female who barely reached Max’s collarbone; and Alec.

 

Max’s jaw dropped open at the sight. ' _Alec’s sparring against TWO X5s?! Is he mental? They’re gonna hand him his ass!'_

 

Alec, however, didn’t seem to share her concern.

 

Darting forward to engage Finn, Alec feinted a straight punch to the head and then slammed his off-hand into Finn’s exposed ribcage. Blocking Finn’s counter blow with his forearm, Alec slid sideways just as Reina closed in on his rear. She kicked out her right foot and hit Alec hard in the back of the thigh, causing his leg to buckle beneath him. Dropping his weight forward to his hands, Alec lashed out with both feet and caught her in the chest, knocking her backwards.

 

Alec surged to his feet just in time to catch a backhand to the face courtesy of Finn. He shook off the blow, ignoring the blood that dripped from his split lip, and countered with a hard punch to the kidneys. Finn absorbed the blow and responded with a lightning fast hook. Alec ducked and retaliated, throwing punches at Finn’s head. Meanwhile, Reina flipped to her feet and came in low and fast on Alec’s left side and slammed her fist into his ribs. Grunting, Alec back-pedalled out range and placed the wall at his back to prevent the two from pinning him between them. They advanced, one on each side. Alec waited, his eyes constantly flicking between them.

 

Max inched forward through the crowd. She was mesmerized by the look of concentration on Alec’s face and the sheer power and fluidity he was demonstrating. This was Alec as she’d never seen him before. This was 494.

 

Pure Manticore.

 

She shivered slightly, both awed and disturbed by a side of Alec she’d never seen before.

 

Alec’s hackles rose in warning. He spared a second to scan the watching crowd and caught a glimpse of Max hovering in the background. * _Oh crap._ * He shrugged mentally. What was he supposed to do, suddenly toss the fight just to give her the kind of exhibition she expected from him? He was tired of pretending.

 

Grinning, Finn took advantage of Alec’s split-second of inattentiveness. He blurred forward and slammed his elbow into Alec’s face, re-opening his split lower lip. Alec spun with the impact and whipped his back leg up and around in a roundhouse kick that caught Finn on the side of the head. Stunned, blood dripping from a slight cut on his temple, Finn stumbled backwards and hit the asphalt.

 

Alec whirled away before Reina could close in on his position. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet and shook his arms to loosen the muscles, and then flashed the crowd a cocky grin before resuming his combat stance.

 

Reina paused briefly, her gaze calculating and assessing, and then launched herself into a jump kick. Anticipating the attack, Alec dropped to one knee and struck at her exposed side. Reina hit the ground and tucked her shoulder into a sideways roll that carried her to her feet. Spinning around, she threw a punch at Alec’s face. Alec ducked, and her fist whistled harmlessly past his ear.

 

Alec grinned. “My turn.” He let fly with a left hook, which Reina blocked easily. She feinted a chop to the throat and then dropped into a crouch and threw a punch at his groin instead. Alec jumped back out of range. Dropping to one knee, he swept his leg out and knocked her feet out from under her. She rolled sideways and got back to her feet.

 

Panting slightly, the two opponents paused to circle one another warily, searching for an opening or a hidden weakness. Reina moved first, attacking with several swift punches aimed at Alec’s head and stomach, her hands moving much too fast for the unenhanced eye to follow. Alec intercepted, parrying blow after blow. Spotting a tiny gap in her defences he shifted his weight to his left leg and landed a side kick with his right that caught her just below the ribs.

 

Reina grabbed Alec’s ankle before he could retract his leg and slammed her elbow into his knee. Alec grunted and staggered to the side, off balance. Reina lunged forward with a straight jab aimed for his throat. Alec blocked the blow with his forearm and latched onto her wrist with both hands. Dropping his weight backwards, his shin braced against her stomach for leverage, he flipped her over his head. She sailed across the length of the sparring ground to collide with an inconveniently-placed concrete wall.

 

Max blinked. She was struck by a truth she’d wilfully – and unforgivably – ignored for far too long. Alec was a much better fighter than she’d ever given him credit for.

 

He’d have to be, to have survived this long; Manticore didn’t tolerate ineptitude.

 

And then another thought hit her. She narrowed her eyes.

 

Alec arched his back into a bridge, kicking his legs upwards and launching himself back to his feet. He moved swiftly to stand above a groggy Finn, his weight evenly balanced on the balls of his feet and his fists ready to deliver another punch. “Give?” he demanded with a cocky grin.

 

“Give,” Finn affirmed, groaning and rubbing his head. “One of these days, man, I’m gonna kick your ass.” He shook his head ruefully and used Alec’s extended hand to help himself up.

 

“Yeah. Keep telling yourself that, buddy.” Alec slapped him on the shoulder and then turned to the female X5 with a sheepish grin. She’d regained her feet and was busily brushing at the mud that crusted her jeans. “Sorry about that, Reina. I kinda forgot that wall was there.”

 

Reina straightened and shook her raven hair off her face. It was cut short and framed her face, emphasizing her delicate, elfin features. “Hmpf,” she sniffed daintily. “We only sparred here every day for like 20 years, but I can see how a little detail like a wall could slip your mind.”

 

Alec laughed and shrugged. “My bad.”

 

“These were my favourite pair of jeans,” she complained, “and now look at them. They’re filthy.” She closed the distance to rejoin the two males. “You see that mud? That’s never coming out. They’re ruined.” The two men dutifully looked at the amoeba-like mud stain that crawled up one leg of her faded blue jeans.

 

“Nah,” Alec said with a shake of his head. “You can’t even see it.”

 

“Practically invisible,” Finn chimed in.

 

“Men,” she muttered in exasperation, but she smiled at them in camaraderie all the same.

 

Max stalked through the crowd to Alec, her eyes blazing. “I need to talk to soldier boy,” she barked at his two sparring partners. “Alone.”

 

Seeing the slightly murderous look in her eyes they turned to Alec for permission, clearly concerned for his continued well-being. The corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile. “Nah, it’s ok. Max won’t kill me. She likes my ass too much,” he joked.

 

“Don’t be too sure,” she warned. Hands firmly planted on her hips, she glowered at Alec. The two X5s looked from Alec to Max to one another, shrugged, and made themselves scarce. The rest of the crowd took the hint and vanished likewise. Within seconds the quad was empty.

 

Alec ran his hands through his sweat-damp hair. “So what did I do now?” he asked resignedly.

 

“You’ve been lying to me since the day we met, haven’t you?”

 

“Uh, Max sweetheart, could you narrow it down a little? With a question like that, no matter what I say I’m gonna get myself into more shit than I already am.”

 

“The fight, Alec. The fight.” She flung out one arm to indicate the sparring ground.

 

“Uh huh.” Alec said thoughtfully. His eyes flicked from the sparring ground and back to Max. He shook his head. “Nope, still not getting it.”

 

“You won!”

 

“So you’re pissed at me because I beat someone else in a fight?” Alec’s eyebrows climbed his forehead in disbelief. “You really get off on seeing me bruised, don’cha Maxie?”

 

“You threw her into the wall!” she said incredulously. “Since when are you that strong?”

 

Alec smirked. “I eat a lot of spinach.”

 

Waves of humiliation washed over Max as she recalled each and every time she gloated about kicking Alec’s ass in a fight. Her eyes slid shut. “You pulled your punches,” she said flatly. “You let me win.”

 

' _About time you noticed,'_  Alec thought grumpily. He abandoned all pretence. “What was I supposed to do – hurt you?”

 

Her eyes snapped open. “I’m not made of glass!” she yelled, furious that Alec of all people would treat her like a china doll. “Why? Why would you let me think I was better than you?” She felt betrayed; he’d never let her lie to herself before.

 

Alec stared at her, amazed that she couldn’t figure it out for herself. ' _Because I love you.'_  He swallowed the words, and instead settled for part of the truth. “Because you needed to believe that more than I needed to prove myself to you.”

 

Max blinked. Whatever justification she’d expected him to give, that wasn’t it. During her summer in hell at Hotel Manticore, Renfro took every opportunity to remind Max of just how poor her skills were in comparison to her fellow Xs. She even insisted that Max train with the much younger X6s. It was humiliating, after 12 years of being able to beat the pants off anything that moved without half trying. Defeating Alec had restored her badly shaken confidence. But how had Alec known that?

 

Her mind drifted back to her and Alec’s first fight, when Logan lay dying on the penthouse floor. Given the prowess he’d just demonstrated, Alec could easily have overpowered her and dragged her sorry ass back to Manticore. But he hadn’t. He let her win.

 

And if he hadn’t pitied her not only would Logan be dead, the transgenics would still be slaves to Manticore. Max hung her head, ashamed at how badly she had always underestimated him.

 

Alec watched the myriad of emotions flitter across her face, and braced himself for the blow that was sure to come. Consequently, he was caught off guard completely when Max flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

 

“Thank you,” she said simply.

 

Alec stared down at her, stunned speechless. Max’s tipped her head back to look at him and her smile deepened at the shocked look on his face. He was so adorable when he was clueless.

 

She took advantage of the moment to slap him on the back of the head. “And if you ever treat me like a child again, you’ll be limping for a week,” she warned.

 

“Yes ma’am.” Alec tossed her a two-fingered salute.

 

Max wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled his head down for a lingering kiss. “See you later, soldier boy,” she whispered against his lips and then turned and walked away, her hips swaying slightly.

 

 

~*~

 

 

It was much later than Max intended by the time she finally sought her bed – feeding, housing, and equipping an army not being conducive to having a life. She stretched and rotated her neck as she walked in a vain attempt to ease her stiff, sore muscles. Her lips curved into a devilish smile as she pushed open the door to their quarters. A full body massage would be heavenly, and she knew just how to persuade Alec to do it.

 

But apparently Alec had other plans tonight.

 

Their bed was empty; the blankets stretched tightly across the mattress and tucked under at the corners with crisp, military precision.

 

Max’s look of miffed disappointment quickly melted into an angry frown. It was after 3 am; where was Alec? HQ was deserted and had been for hours. Even the late-night poker game in the mess hall had folded long ago.

 

The voice of self-doubt and uncertainty whispered in her mind’s ear,  _‘If he’s not in your bed, who’s bed is he in? Leopards don’t change their spots.’_

 

Unbidden, the candidates sprang to mind. The sultry blonde. The redhead with the dimples and the infectious laugh that made you want to join in, even when you didn’t know the joke. The petite Asian who’s every graceful move made Max feel like a clumsy heifer.

 

The list of potential rivals was as long as the female X population.

 

Suddenly Max was furious and seething with fear, doubt, and jealousy, although she refused to acknowledge any emotion but anger. Her hands curled into tight fists. ' _Alec wouldn’t dare. He knows I’d beat the crap out of him AND the little slut.'_  The door banged shut behind her with a resounding slam. ' _You’d better be working, Alec, or you’ll wish I let your head explode.'_

 

Max stormed through the corridors to his office, her boot heels pounding out her fury against the concrete floor. She rounded a corner and was taken aback to see light spilling into the dark hallway from his half-open office door. Her pace slowed to a crawl. She hadn’t really expected to find Alec still hard at work, but there he was, slumped in his chair with papers strewn in an untidy mess across the surface of his desk. He was humming under his breath and bobbing his head in time to the music. Max smiled faintly in amusement.

 

He whipped his head up and stared at where Max hovered in the doorway, startled out of his thoughts by the unexpected sound of someone else’s breathing. One hand absently raked through his hair. “Max? What’s up, babe?”

 

“You’re still working,” she said blankly.

 

“Yep.” He might as well work through the night; he couldn’t sleep. Or rather, he didn’t want to sleep in their empty bed with the blankets that still held her scent. He wanted more than just the olfactory memory of his mate.

 

Guilt replaced the anger in her system; guilt for always misjudging him and assuming the worst; guilt for burdening him with her responsibilities, when he had more than enough of his own. He looked pale and exhausted and dark shadows lurked behind his eyes. He needed sleep; they both did.

 

“Alec, you look like crap. Try sleeping much?” She winced; that didn’t come out the way she intended. Tact really wasn’t among her finer verbal skills.

 

“Like you’d know,” he muttered. The bitter words slipped out before he could prevent it. He glanced away in the hope she hadn’t heard him. A vain hope, considering Max was genetically engineered to be able to hear a heartbeat from 40 feet out.

 

Her eyes narrowed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

 

Alec shrugged and let his anger answer for him. “Just an observation, Max. You haven’t exactly spent much time in our bed either lately.”

 

She flushed and dropped her gaze to her boots. It was the truth. She’d spent very little time with Alec since her siblings arrived and she missed him dreadfully; missed his wicked sense of humour, their verbal sparring, his warmth in her bed next to her at night... But as always was the case with her, guilt turned to anger and anger demanded immediate release. Alec had been avoiding her, too. And in any case, where did he get off being such a jerk about it?

 

Max planted her hands on her hips and stared him down. “So you’re mad because I’ve been spending time with my family instead of fucking you?”

 

His face darkened. Naturally Max chose to interpret what he said in the worst possible light. Was it a disease with her?

 

“That’s not what I meant.” Alec leaped to his feet and loomed over his desk, his knuckles braced against the surface. He breathed heavily, struggling for self-control. He was furious with himself for letting the conversation get out of hand. He was trying to keep her in his life, not chase her out of it with a stick.

 

Max matched Alec glare for glare. “Good, because they’re my family. I haven’t seen them in 12 years. So excuse me if I’d rather spend time with them.”

 

“It’s your life, Max. You’re free to hang with whoever you want.”

 

“Damn right.” She spun on her heel. Alec’s voice stopped her before she’d taken more than three angry strides towards the door.

 

“But what about the rest of us? Me... Josh... Your troops? Do we suddenly not count because we didn’t run?”

 

Max whipped around to face him, but her heated retort died unspoken. Alec stared at her from beneath lowered brows. His jaw was clenched so tightly she could see the muscles in his cheek ticking. She froze, immobilized by the mingled ire, hurt, and doubt on his face.

 

Infuriated by the impassive look on Max’s face, Alec went on the offensive, determined to wrest a reaction from her. “Joshua thinks he did something wrong. He thinks you don’t need him anymore, now that your rug rat brothers and sisters are back in town.”

 

Max shifted her weight awkwardly. Her eyes darted frantically around the room, unable to meet Alec’s accusatory glare, and finally came to rest on her boots. It occurred to her that he might be talking about himself as much as Joshua, and desperately hoped that wasn’t true. She held herself perfectly still, as if that would somehow protect her from an ugly truth she didn’t want to face.

 

“I told him you were just miffed,” Alec continued, “because we didn’t throw them a welcome home party.” He snorted in derision. “Yeah, right. And why don’t I just hand over command of the strike teams while I’m at it.”

 

“Don’t! Not you too,” Max hissed. She couldn’t bear to hear a litany of her sins from Alec. Not again. “I know, alright? I KNOW. I get it. We were wrong, we messed up, we left you behind and made your life hell. You want me to feel bad? Well guess what, I already do.”

 

Alec blinked, startled by the complete transformation in her demeanour. No longer cold and indifferent, Max was trembling violently and her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. ' _Whaddaya_ _mean, ‘not you too’? Who’ve you been talking to, Max?'_  Comprehension dawned a second later. ' _Mole. Shit! What the hell did he tell her?'_  His lips twisted into a frown and he let out a heavy sigh. No doubt the lizard told Max off under the guise of ‘defending’ Alec, despite standing orders to the contrary; Mole made an art form out of disguising insubordination as loyalty.

 

Max prickled defensively at the annoyance on Alec’s face. “You want to hear me say it? Fine. I’ll say it – it’s my fault. It’s all my fault.” Her voice cracked under the weight of the guilt she’d kept buried for over a year, and her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “We escaped because of ME. I was having seizures. They took Jack away and he never came back. Zack wasn’t going to let them have me too. And DON’T tell me they were just trying to help because I saw what they did to Jack. I saw his body in the morgue. Lydecker just stood there and watched as the doctors cut him open! So we HAD to run.” She stared at him defiantly for several seconds, and then her face crumpled. “We had to,” she repeated.

 

“Oh, I see. You HAD to. Well, that makes everything just peachy-keen then, doesn’t it?” Alec said sarcastically. “Come on, Maxie. You think I never had the shakes? Or lost a squad mate to Manticore? You’re not the victim here. You got away. You don’t know what it was like. What they did.”

 

Images flashed across his memory, brief snatches of the experiments he’d endured, the punishments and torture they’d used to control him. Wide leather straps that bit into his arms and legs, holding him captive. Metal surgical tables, cold and hard beneath his bare skin. The prick of a scalpel as it cut into his flesh. The taste of his blood. The silent, black nothingness of Solitary. Burning red lasers, burrowed into his mind. The tank. Electric jolts coursing through his body, his limbs jerking spasmodically beyond his control. Hunger gnawing like teeth at his insides during countless days spent in lockdown. The echo of the guards’ footsteps retreating down the basement corridor. Pain flooding every nerve ending until nothing else existed.

 

Pain flavoured most of his memories of Manticore.

 

Alec slumped against his desk, the heel of his hand pressed against his eyes in a vain attempt to block the images that bombarded him.

 

“Alec?” Alarmed, Max rushed around the desk to his side. Her hand hovered uncertainly in the air and then descended to his shoulder. Slowly he turned his head to face her, but his eyes were out of focus and he stared past Max as if she weren’t even there.

 

“I hated you,” he admitted frankly. Max flinched. Her hand dropped woodenly to her side. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I was a good soldier, and they punished me for something I didn’t even do. Something I’d never even thought of doing.”

 

Fat tears fell from Max’s eyes and slid down her cheeks. Something inside her shrivelled at Alec’s blunt admission. “So this is what... just a sick game to you?” she whispered in a broken voice. “Revenge. Payback. Play the Niner for a fool. I shoulda known.”

 

Max spun on her heel and fled to the door. She fumbled with the doorknob, her vision distorted by her tears. Alec blinked in confusion, suddenly aware of his surroundings. He blurred after her and reached out one arm and slammed the door shut just as Max managed to wrench it open.

 

“Max, don’t! Don’t run. Hear me out.”

 

“No thanks. I really don’t need to hear how much I disgust you.” She laughed hollowly. “Logan tried to warn me, but I just wouldn’t listen. I knew better. I told him you weren’t like that. You weren’t Manticore. Guess the joke’s on me, huh?”

 

She tugged on the door, trying to wrestle it open, but Alec threw his greater weight against it and held it shut. He snaked one arm around her and forced her to spin and face him. Gripping her by the shoulders, he pinned her to the door. “Max, please! Just listen to me for once, would’ya!” he pleaded.

 

She struggled against his grip. “Why? I heard it all yesterday. I know much everyone hates me. Even you.” Max stared up at him defiantly. Her chin quivered as she fought to keep back her tears. She refused to break down and cry in front of him. Tears were a sign of weakness, and she’d already exposed enough of her vulnerabilities to him.

 

“Yeah, I hated you. Can you blame me? You ran, and left us in hell. Plus Psy Ops tried hard enough to make sure I would.” Alec laughed bitterly and without humour. “They tried a little too hard in fact. I stopped caring about a lot of things after...after Rachel. I stopped hating you. I even envied you.”

 

Max just stared at him, disbelief clearly written across her features. Alec shrugged. “You got out. We didn’t even try. We just let Manticore do whatever they wanted to us. We were stronger and smarter, we outnumbered them... and we just took it.” His eyes went out of focus and his fingers flexed and tightened convulsively, gripping her shoulders painfully.

 

Max welcomed the slight pain as a distraction. Mole’s gruff voice echoed in her mind. ‘ _They tightened the leash after you cowards bolted for the hills. Not everyone survived. And your twins got the worst of it... Do you have any idea how many punishment techniques they perfected using the twins as guinea pigs?_ ’' Max bit back a sob. She did this to him, to all of them, and she didn’t know how to fix it. Or even if she could. ‘Sorry, my bad’ wouldn’t exactly balance the scales.

 

“You don’t understand what it was like, Max. You can’t. You weren’t there. But just because you got out and we didn’t, doesn’t make us any less your family. It does mean we’re not worth your time!” Alec threw up his hands, frustrated that he was the only one who seemed to grasp that simple truth.

 

“Alec, I’m sorry,” she whispered brokenly, not sure what else to say. Guilt was a sharp knife in her ribs. It twisted in the wound, digging painfully into her flesh.

 

The sight of Max’s guilt-ridden face melted the last of his lingering resentment. She understood, despite what her actions said to the contrary. He took a deep breath and released it slowly, and then flashed her a pale ghost of his trademark grin. “S’ok, Maxie. You set us free. You made them stop. I’d say that makes us even.” 

 

Max shook her head in denial. “No. We waited too long. We shouldn’t have just left you there. We could’ve stopped them.”

 

“Twelve of you against an army? Be realistic, Max. We’re good, but there are limits.”

 

“It only took four of us to blow up the DNA lab,” Max countered.

 

“Only because Manticore didn’t expect Deck to be suicidal. And I wouldn’t call that mission a success. A 50% attrition rate is unacceptable, even for an infiltration squad.” Alec’s lips twisted into a wry smile. The irony of him defending Max’s actions – or, lack of action – was not lost on him. Typical; only Max had the power to twist him around so completely.

 

“We still should’ve tried,” Max insisted. “If we’d just done SOMETHING, you wouldn’t’ve ended up in Psy Ops all those times. And maybe...” she swallowed hard and forced the words out, “maybe Rachel wouldn’t have died.”

 

Alec hunched his shoulders as if to ward off a painful blow. He looked at her with eyes that were weary and old beyond his years. “Rachel wasn’t your fault, Max. She was my mistake. Not yours. And Ben’s obsession with the Blue Lady started long before you escaped. Psy Ops would’ve had me, one way or another.”

 

“Don’t! Don’t shrug everything off like it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to pretend all the time. No one’s going to punish you out here.” Max’s heart bled at the pain that forever lurked in the back of his eyes. Pain she couldn’t ease, because he wouldn’t let her in.

 

“What do you want from me, Max?” Alec raked his hands through his hair. Max was the most stubborn creature he’d ever met; she made mules look docile and biddable in comparison. “What should I do, huh? Obsess about what might’ve been until I’m as crazy as Ben? Or wallow in self-pity like you?”

 

“Well, excuse me for feeling bad about ruining your life!” Max retorted, stung. Kicking at the floor with the toe of her boot, she muttered under her breath, “I do NOT wallow.”

 

Alec couldn’t help himself. He cracked a huge grin. “Max, Max, Max,” he said, shaking his head, “you pout so much we outta call you Mopey Max. I’m surprised your face hasn’t frozen that way.”

 

“I do not,” Max sulked. Predictably, her mouth turned down in a pout. Alec raised his eyebrows and stared pointedly at her protruding lower lip. Max struggled valiantly for several seconds, her chin quivering, and then she gave in and smiled ruefully. The tension in the room eased several notches; Max felt like she could breathe again.

 

“Alec, I’m so sorry for...” she shrugged helplessly, “... for everything.”

 

“Just forget about it, Max. It’s over. What’s done is done. If you hadn’t escaped, they still would’ve found reasons to punish us. I still would’ve ended up in Psy Ops. I wasn’t exactly a model soldier.”

 

Max scrutinized Alec for several seconds before nodding reluctantly. Guilt still pricked at her, but it was tolerable. And as long as Alec didn’t hate her, she could live with it. She took a deep calming breath and released it slowly and made an effort to restart their conversation. “I was looking for you earlier. Where did you disappear to?”

 

“Nowhere. I was here.” He gestured at the papers he was hunched over when she interrupted him.

 

“You’ve been here the whole time? Alec, it’s 3 am!”

 

“So?” Alec shrugged. “I’m the one risking a stiff neck, not you.”

 

“But, I was looking for you. My sibs wanted to meet you.”

 

Alec couldn’t help but notice Max’s choice of wording – that her siblings were the ones who wanted the introduction, not Max. With a bitter smile he flung himself away from her and paced restlessly around the small office.

 

Max followed him with her eyes, puzzled by his reaction. Whenever her siblings were near he retreated into himself and she didn’t understand why. Surely he wasn’t jealous? The notion was so absurd she almost laughed aloud.

 

‘ _Oh really? How much time have you spent with Alec since Jondy and the others returned?_ ’ her conscience demanded.

 

Max sobered instantly. “Alec, I wanted you to join us.”

 

“Why? So I can take you dead brother’s place at the dinner table? No thanks.”

 

“Alec, that’s not fair,” Max protested.

 

“What’s the point, Max? I can’t reminisce with you about old times. I wasn’t there. Wrong twin, remember?”

 

“That’s got nothing to do with it. I just want you to meet them. They’re my family, they-”

 

“But they’re not mine, Max,” Alec interrupted. “Don’t you get it? They don’t see me. I’m not a real person to them. I’m just a reflection.”

 

“Because you haven’t given them a chance!” she yelled. Why were they even arguing about this? Why was he being so stubborn? “Yeah, you look like Ben. It’s kinda freaky. And they’re gonna stare. So what? They’ll get over it as soon as you open your mouth. Besides, you like being the centre of attention.”

 

“I’ve lived in Ben’s shadow my entire life and I’m sick of it! Even from the grave he-” Alec choked back the words, regretting them as soon as he saw the spasm of pain cross her face. He averted his face. “They’re not my family, Max. I don’t belong there.” He flung himself into his chair and stared unseeing at his desk.

 

“Fine. Whatever,” she snarled, furious and disappointed. He’d shut her out, like always, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She turned her back on him and stalked across the room. The sound of his voice made her pause in the doorway.

 

“Is that why you’re with me – because I remind you of him? When I touch you, do you pretend you’ve got Ben back, alive and sane?”

 

She spun around so fast her hair fanned out and whipped her across the face. Alec was slumped in his chair, watching her with a steady, unnerving gaze. The desperate look in his eyes was all the more disturbing given the blank stillness of the rest of his face. Max shivered.

 

“No. No way,” she protested, shaking her head for emphasis. “Ben was my brother. You’re not.” It really was that simple, although Alec didn’t seem convinced. She stepped closer, her eyes locked on his. “You are NOT my brother, Alec. You never have been. You are NOTHING like him.”

 

Alec raised his eyebrows. “Uh Max, do the words ‘monozygotic twins’ mean anything to you?”

 

' _Always the smart-aleck.'_  Max dismissed his objections with an impatient wave of her hands. “Yeah, you look like him. Physically. So what? Everything else about you is so different. The way you stand, the way you hold your head, your smile... Ben never smiled.” Max sighed wistfully. “Not like you, anyway. Believe me, Alec, if Ben were here in this room right now, I’d know you from him. You’re not Ben to me.”

 

Alec’s eyes scanned hers before dropping to stare fixedly at his desk. He shrugged. “Good to know.”

 

“You don’t really believe me, do you?” Max moved around the desk and stepped between Alec’s outstretched legs. She grabbed his chin in her small hand and forced him to tip his head back to look her in the eye. “When we first met, I looked at you and saw Ben,” she confessed, “and that made me feel guilty, and I took it out on you. And then I stopped seeing Ben and that made me feel even guiltier.”

 

Max blinked back tears for the brother she lost, her chin quivering. She took a deep breath and said with all the honesty as she could muster, “I know who you are, Alec. You’re not a, a shadow or a copy or whatever you think I think you are. You’re real. Ben’s not, he’s just a memory. And I never wanted to touch him the way I want to touch you.”

 

“And how’s that?” he whispered huskily, his eyes suddenly a deep emerald green.

 

Shifted her hands to the back of his neck, Max dropped her head and captured his lips in a searing kiss. She felt electricity course between their bodies and apparently so did Alec, judging by his low groan. He cupped her face in his hands, tangling his fingers in her long hair, and kissed her so thoroughly it left her breathless. Thankfully, oxygen deprivation was not so much of a problem for them. His tongue traced the outline of her soft, full lips and then snaked into her mouth. Max gasped and wriggled in his arms, trying to close the slight distance between their bodies.

 

Needing full-body contact, Max climbed onto his lap, her legs straddling both of his. From the vantage of her new position she could feel the bulge of his erection through his jeans. He wasn’t lying that day when he proudly declared he was ‘always ready.’ She grinned wickedly against his mouth and deepened the kiss, her tongue vying with his for supremacy. Her jean-clad hips rubbed playfully against his erection. He growled; a deep sexy rumble from low in his throat that made her ache inside. She loved it when he growled; the sound so primal and uninhibited it called up the animal instincts in her DNA.

 

She slipped her hands under his shirt and caressed his chest, savouring the feel of the bunched muscles of his chest and abdomen beneath the softness of his skin. Alec mimicked her actions, his hands sliding down her back to her waist and under the hem of her shirt. He traced idle designs on her back, sending shivers down her spine.

 

Max broke the kiss. She tugged impatiently at his shirt, pulling it up and over his head before peeling off her own. Alec reached behind her and undid her bra with deft fingers. Tossing the bra carelessly to the floor, he bent his head and seized one perky, dusky-coloured nipple in his mouth. Max moaned on contact and arched her back, thrusting her firm breasts against his seeking mouth. His nimble fingers teased and stroked one nipple while his tongue swirled around the other, his mouth nipping and suckling the tight bud.

 

Eyes closed, Max flung her head back until her back was arched like a bow, lost in the hedonistic pleasure his touch provoked in her. Only his strong arms around her kept her from tumbling backwards off the chair.

 

Without warning Alec stood up and set Max on her feet. She slumped against him, her legs weak and trembling, and buried her face against his chest. He reached behind her and swept his arm across the surface of the desk, causing a blizzard of white papers to shower the floor. Lifting her from the ground, he laid her on the desk and moved forward to stand between her legs, his upper body covering hers, his weight pinning her to the desk. Her nipples brushed his chest, the friction causing them to tighten almost painfully.

 

“Alec... your papers,” she protested breathily, her head craned to look over her shoulder at the mess on the floor. Part of her mind – the rational, disciplined soldier part – objected to the disorder; the rest of her couldn’t care in the least.

 

“Don’t care. Not important,” Alec mumbled, his voice muted as he nibbled on the pulse point in her throat.

 

“Oh god Alec,” she moaned, her eyes sliding shut at the sensation. Coherent thought abandoned her entirely. With one hand she pressed his face against her neck while the other wound through his hair, tugging on the silken locks.

 

He bared his teeth in a feral grin and bit the tender skin hard enough to leave a mark. “Mine,” he growled and lapped up the few drops of blood that flowed from the wound.

 

“Yours,” she agreed. A breathy, contended moan escaped her. This was where she belonged; in his arms. Alec was her match.

 

If only it hadn’t taken her a year to come to terms with that simple fact.

 

Maybe now she could finally relinquish her title as the reigning queen of all-things-denial. Max giggled at a mental image of herself dressed in a pink satin ball gown and white sash bearing the words ‘Queen of Denial 2021’, handing over her tiara to Asha in classic beauty-pageant style.

 

Alec raised his head, nonplussed by Max’s slightly hysterical laughter. “Not exactly the response a guy’s looking for.”

 

“I’m an idiot,” she explained cryptically with a one-shoulder shrug. Her brown eyes sparkled with amusement and desire. “And you...” A naughty smile crossed her lips. “You’re all mine, pretty boy.” She surged forward and captured his mouth in a brutal kiss. Her sharp teeth nipped his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. She sucked on his lip, the warm coppery taste of his blood like an electric jolt to her groin, sparking a fierce desire deep inside her. Alec’s hips bucked against her.

 

Max dropped her hands to his waist, her fingers fumbling with his belt. “Off. Now.” she ordered.

 

“Eager, aren’t we?” Alec said, his voice rich with amusement and something darker.

 

She arched one eyebrow coyly. “Complaining?”

 

Alec hastily shook his head. “Nope.” He scrambled to his feet and stripped out of his jeans and boxers in one quick motion. Max shimmied out of her jeans and stood before him dressed only in a pair of white cotton panties. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders to conceal her pert breasts from view. Alec swallowed hard. As far as he was concerned, the vision currently before him was more erotic than the skimpiest black lace lingerie. His cock throbbed; he was so hard for her it was almost painful.

 

With a teasing smile, Max slowly peeled off her panties and then shook back her hair, exposing herself to his heated gaze. Alec drank in the sight of her. She was so beautiful.

 

Max gazed on Alec’s nakedness, from his broad shoulders to his well-defined abs and the thin line of dark golden hair pointing, straight as an arrow, to his cock. She licked her lips hungrily and hopped back onto the desk, her legs spread and an inviting smile on her lips. Alec needed no encouragement. He moved forward to stand between her thighs, his upper body braced on his bent elbows. Eyes locked with hers, he eased into her, inch by slow inch, until his shaft was buried to the hilt in her warm wetness.

 

Max closed her eyes, lost in the feel of Alec filling her completely. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him even deeper inside her. Slowly Alec began to move in strong and steady thrusts. Max clutched at his shoulders, her sharp nails digging into his skin. The slight pain spurred him on and he began to pump faster. Max writhed beneath him, using the desk as leverage to counter his thrusts as he plunged in and out. Her small pants and kittenish mewlings as she neared her climax urged him to go ever faster, and he obliged. Harder and faster he moved in a steady rhythm, until he felt himself reach the brink.

 

Alec abruptly pulled out and stepped back. Body trembling, he gulped in deep breaths of air in an attempt to maintain control over himself.

 

Max pouted in protest over his departure. With an outstretched hand she beckoned him back. “Alec,” she whispered, “now is sooo not the time to play hard to get.”

 

“Turn over, Max,” he whispered huskily. Taking hold of her hand, he pulled her to her feet. Max smiled, a wanton expression on her face. She slowly turned in place, her hips swaying seductively, and leaned over the desk.

 

Alec groaned at the sight of Max’s firm, round bottom bent over the edge of the desk, her legs slightly spread. He gently caressed the curve of her buttocks, his hands pale against the darker caramel of her skin. His cock nudged against the opening of her passage. Max twisted her head around to look at him and rubbed her hips against him playfully.

 

Holding her by her hips to steady himself, Alec plunged into her in one quick motion. Max gasped his name aloud as he penetrated, the angle of entry causing his shaft to rub against the spongy spot on the back wall of her passage. She threw back her head, her eyes closed in bliss. Alec smiled in satisfaction at the look of pleasure on her face.

 

He pulled out almost completely and then thrust deeply into her again. His hips slammed into her with enough force to rock the desk on its legs. Max moaned and clutched the edge of the desk so hard the wood threatened to crack under her grip. Alec’s thrusts came harder and faster now, his hips almost a blur, hurtling them both toward release with reckless abandon.

 

Max’s legs began to shake uncontrollably and she screamed his name aloud as she climaxed. Her inner muscles fluttered around his shaft, milking him, and it robbed Alec of the last of his control. Stars exploded and reformed inside his head as he pumped wildly, spilling his seed inside her.

 

Exhausted, Alec slumped wearily against Max’s back, his head buried in the curve of her neck, and waited for the world to stop spinning. Groaning, he pulled out of her warm passage and crawled up onto the desk to lie panting beside Max. She summoned just enough strength to scoot over and snuggle against his side, her head cushioned on his shoulder and her arm curled possessively over his waist. Alec snagged his leather jacket off the back of his desk chair and covered their nakedness with it. Max sighed contentedly. Their eyes slid shut, and they both slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 


	13. Chapter 13

The moon slid behind Seattle’s ever-present cloud cover, plunging the docks into near total darkness. Water lapped at the wooden pilings with a rhythmic sucking noise. Somewhere in the distance a foghorn moaned. Asha scuttled through the shadows, her back pressed tightly to the walls of the dilapidated warehouses. Her rubber-soled sneakers made no sound on the concrete wharf.

 

No sound audible to the human ear, that is.

 

A soft thump behind her had Asha spinning around in alarm, her hand automatically reaching for her gun. A stray tomcat, flea-ridden and half starved, crouched atop a nearby dumpster. Its ears lay flat against its skull and its eyes glowed yellow, giving it a vaguely reptilian appearance. It hissed defiantly and swiped at her with one paw before it turned tail and disappeared into the night.

 

Asha laughed nervously, her heart thudding in her ears. ‘ _Stupid cat._ ’ She breathed deeply and tried to ignore the slight tremble in her hands as she tucked her gun back into the waistband of her jeans. She was good at the game, but breaking into secure facilities in pursuit of truth and justice was much less nerve-wracking in the days before she learned what else might be hiding in the shadows.

 

Asha peered at the faded numbers painted on the side of the building and then at Logan’s cramped handwriting on the map in her hand; both were almost illegible in the dim light. She sighed heavily. Times like this had her wishing for just a little of Max’s genetically-altered DNA; night vision would make this so much easier.

 

Plus, genetic enhancement seemed to be the magic ticket into Logan’s affections.

 

Asha sighed again and shoved the crumpled note into her pocket. She was what she was, and right now she had a job to do for Eyes Only. According to an EO informant, an unmarked ship had docked and unloaded its cargo at Warehouse 19 well after midnight yesterday – not exactly normal business hours. And even more damning, there was no record of either the ship or its cargo on the official shipping manifest. So it would seem that smugglers had once again decided to use Seattle as their personal stomping grounds.

 

The news launched Logan into full save-the-world mode. He’d called in the S1W and Asha was only too happy to assist; Logan-on-a-mission was a refreshing change from drunken, brooding Logan.

 

Asha had swung by the house the day after Eyes Only’s cryptic message for the transgenics to find Logan slumped despondently in his desk chair, asleep and drooling onto his keyboard. His clothes looked like they’d been slept in and his whiskers had grown well past the point of stubble into full beard territory. He’d blinked at her blearily, his eyes red-rimmed and puffy. Taking pity on him, she’d brewed him a pot of strong black coffee and tossed him into a cold shower.

 

A cursory search revealed an empty house. The two transgenics were gone, just as Asha had predicted. Logan refused to discuss it, but Asha knew there was more to it than just the fact that Max had pulled another runner. Something had happened between them, something sufficiently traumatic to send Logan to the bottom of a whisky bottle, and Asha would wager her meagre bankroll that it had everything to do with a certain X5 alpha male. If Max had any brains in her genetically-engineered skull, then she’d finally made her choice.

 

Not that Asha cared one way or the other, of course.

 

Asha smiled wryly. Yeah, right. And pigs not only fly, they deliver the mail too.

 

Her scattered thoughts were dragged back to reality by the flash of headlights as a car rounded the corner. Asha scooted into the deep shadows behind the nearby dumpster and ducked for cover. A government-issue sedan rolled down the wharf, its big engine purring softly, and stopped opposite Warehouse 19. A trim man in a stiff black suit and close-cropped brown hair slid from behind the wheel. Stalking over to the loading docks, he banged his fist impatiently against the metal door.

 

Asha blinked. ‘ _Huh._ ’ The driver was none other than the infamous Special Agent Ames White – the NSA operative who’d exposed the transgenics on national television and declared them all a menace to society. She chewed on her lip distractedly. Somehow she doubted Agent White was here to arrest the smugglers.

 

A peephole embedded in the door slid open and a shadowy face peered out. White muttered something unintelligible. The guard nodded curtly and slammed the peephole shut again. White turned and paced the length of the loading docks impatiently, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his overcoat.

 

Curious to see who the NSA agent was meeting with, Asha pulled her digital camera from her pocket and scooted forward slightly to get a better view. One foot dislodged a stone and sent it skidding. It hit the metal rim of the dumpster with a small ping.

 

Startled by the noise, Agent White whipped around. Asha’s mouth went dry and she shrank backwards into a tight little ball. White stepped forward a few feet, his head turning from side to side as he scanned the dockyard for the source of the noise. His eyes latched onto the dumpster and Asha stopped breathing entirely.

 

No one could have heard the rock hit from that distance away.

 

No human anyway.

 

Fortunately for Asha, the tomcat chose that moment to make an appearance. It slunk out of the alley at her back, skirted a patch of dirty water, and trotted down the wharf with its tail held defiantly upright. White sneered and kicked a rock after it before turning back to the warehouse door. Asha let out her pent up breath in a relieved whoosh.

 

The heavy metal door swung open without a sound, which was decidedly out of keeping with the dilapidated state of the building’s exterior. An impeccably dressed man in a crisp white lab coat, starched white shirt and black dress pants – still with a perfectly ironed crease down the front despite the lateness of the hour – stepped out of the building and into the patch of light thrown by the single bare bulb hanging above the door. Grey streaked his dark hair, giving him the appearance of a distinguished statesman. He nodded at the government agent, his face impassive.

 

“Fenes’tol, Brother White,” he intoned solemnly.

 

“Fenes’tol, Brother Cross,” White replied.

 

 _‘Shit. Familiars in Seattle. This can’t be good._ ’ Asha hurriedly snapped several photos of the two men.

 

White turned his back on the older man and tilted his head to stare up at the night sky. A slight smile crossed his lips. The three sacred planets pulsed brightly just above the horizon, three brilliant orbs amid the paler stars. Very soon they would be in alignment, and the Four Horsemen would be unleashed on an unsuspecting world. “It’s nearly time,” he observed.

 

“Yes. Exactly as foretold. Why are you here, Ames?” Dr. Cross inquired bluntly. “Shouldn’t you be off somewhere hunting down the transgenic filth?”

 

White whirled around to face the scientist. Rage stirred inside him. He detested all scientists on principle; a legacy born of his father’s betrayal. His eyes glittered angrily in the moonlight. “I am. Why do you think I’m here?”

 

Dr. Cross snorted. “The transgenics fled Seattle, or don’t you pay attention?” He paused and then said cuttingly, “Though in light of your dismal performance in dealing with the transgenics, that may be precisely the problem. Too impulsive by half.”

 

White’s hands clenched and unclenched at his sides and he had to forcibly remind himself of this man’s standing with the Conclave, and his own purpose in coming here tonight. He stretched his lips in a bland smile that emerged as more of a grimace. “How many Phalanx have been assigned to guard the compound?”

 

“Enough.” Dr. Cross smiled complacently.

 

“Contact the Conclave,” White ordered. “Request an additional team.”

 

Dr. Cross arched one eyebrow. “I hardly think that’s necessary. The transgenics--”

 

“--are dangerous,” White interrupted. “Do NOT underestimate that bitch 452, or her freak boyfriend 494. They’re cunning and relentless.”

 

“As are we,” Dr. Cross replied calmly.

 

“452 is the fucking Messenger!” White snarled. “The Prophecy was written on her back! Those animals are smarter than they look and they’re well trained. If you think they haven’t tried to translate the runes then you’re as stupid as a human. And if they have the SLIGHTEST idea of what’s in store for them and their pathetic human friends...” He shook with barely suppressed rage, his nostrils flaring with each deep breath. “I will NOT allow my father’s pets to destroy our destiny.”

 

“Nothing can delay The Coming. Our time is nigh,” Dr. Cross insisted. “We shall wrest control of the Earth from the undeserving. The bones of the weak shall be ground to dust beneath our heels. We will prevail.” His eyes shone with a fanatical light, chiding White for his lack of faith.

 

“We will prevail,” White echoed. He pinned the scientist with a commanding glare. “But double the guard anyway. Or explain to the Conclave why you are prepared to leave The Purification vulnerable to our greatest enemies.”

 

Dr. Cross glared at White, deeply resentful of the younger man’s interference, but he nodded acquiescence all the same. Disgraced though he may be, and tainted by his father’s treachery, Ames White was still a man to be feared and respected. “I bow to the wisdom.”

 

“Good.” White smirked, revelling in his power over the other man, and stalked over to his waiting vehicle. Gravel spun out from under the tires as he careened back down the wharf.

 

Asha slowly lowered the camera. A cold shiver of dread ran up her spine. Very little of that conversation made sense to her but she knew enough to be afraid. And suddenly she wanted desperately to be somewhere noisy and well lit, somewhere surrounded by sane, normal, everyday people. Somewhere with a lot of alcohol.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Max scrunched her face in protest against the early morning sunlight that streamed through the uncurtained window and assaulted her eyelids. Turning her head, she burrowed deeper into her warm pillow, lulled by its gentle up and down motion and a steady thumping under her ear. It took several seconds for her sleepy brain to recognize that pillows not only don’t breathe, they most definitely do not have a heartbeat.

 

Inhaling deeply, she breathed in Alec’s familiar scent. She lay half on top of him, their legs entwined and her head cushioned on his broad shoulder. His arms were curled protectively around her back and his cheek rested against the top of her head.

 

Easing herself upright, Max propped her weight on one elbow and gazed thoughtfully at her sleeping mate. Thanks to last night’s bitter confrontation she now knew what demons drove him, though it was doubtful she’d ever unravel all of Alec’s mysteries. Not that she’d want to; it was a refreshing change never knowing what he might say or do next. X5s weren’t built for dull, boring, and predictable.

 

She smiled and brushed a stray lock of hair off Alec’s forehead, her hand drifting in a feather-light caress over his forehead and cheek. He nuzzled her hand with his face, instinctively seeking her touch even in his sleep. Max sighed. Much as she wished to stay exactly where she was, duty called. “Alec,” she whispered, “time to wake up, sleepyhead.”

 

“Don’ wanna,” he muttered indistinctly, his eyes still shut tight.

 

Max poked him in the ribs. “Tough. If I hafta, so do you.”

 

Yawning hugely, Alec cracked open his eyes to see Max hovering over him like an angelic vision; sunlight kissed her brown hair and set it aflame, her eyes sparkled with happiness, and her lips were curved in a tender smile. He smiled back at her with his heart in his eyes. Max felt her heart skip a beat. When Alec smiled at her that way, without his usual mask, she felt nothing could possibly be wrong in the world.

 

Alec gently pulled Max back down into his arms and settled her against his chest, wanting to savour the feeling of finally waking with the woman he loved still in his arms. ‘ _I could get used to this,_ ’ he thought as he idly stroked her spine.

 

It felt right. Natural. And he’d do anything in his power to keep her there.

 

And the longer she spent in his bed, the greater his chances. The sex was incredible; tangible proof of how good they could be together.

 

Alec slid his hands down Max’s back to her hips and pulled her completely on top of him. The sudden shift brought Max’s attention to a certain portion of his anatomy. Her eyes flicked down to his hips and then back to Alec’s face and she arched one eyebrow coyly. “Your little soldier’s reporting for duty already?”

 

Alec shrugged nonchalantly. “Hey, I’m male and you’re warm and naked and lying right on top of me. Things happen.” He leered at her, his eyebrows wagging suggestively. “Wanna help me take care of it?”

 

Max stared at him for several seconds and then shrugged ‘why not’ and slowly lowered her head. Alec’s eyes slid shut and his lips parted in anticipation of her kiss. Giggling, Max braced her hands on his chest for leverage and flipped herself off him and over the desk. Startled, Alec’s eyes flew open.

 

Smirking at the expression on his face, Max straightened and shook back her long hair. She stood in her trademark pose – one hand planted on one outthrust hip and head tilted to the side. For once she was heedless of her nudity. It was a breathtaking sight, and it held Alec transfixed.

 

“Up you get, soldier boy,” Max teased.

 

“I am ‘up’,” Alec said with a pout. “Remember?”

 

Max rolled her eyes and turned away so Alec wouldn’t see her smile. “Move it, lazybones,” she ordered over her shoulder.

 

Alec’s favourite charcoal leather jacket – last night’s makeshift blanket – lay in a crumpled heap at her feet. Max laid it carefully across the back of his desk chair. Her fingers brushed the bullet hole in the left sleeve and she repressed a shudder at how close she came to losing him that day. Searching for her scattered clothes, she retrieved her bra from beneath the desk and her panties from the top of the filing cabinet. Her boots lay in opposite corners of the room, her jeans and top somewhere in between.

 

“Get a guy’s hopes up...” Alec grumbled under his breath. He propped himself up on his elbows but otherwise made no move to leave his desk. “What’s the rush, Maxie? It’s barely 0700 hours.”

 

“Doesn’t Joshua usually meet you here before breakfast?” she asked, her voice slightly garbled by the fabric of her top as she pulled it over her head.

 

“Yeah, but--”

 

“--but nothing.” Max said firmly and turned to fix him with a sharp eye. “I sooo do not want him walking in on us doing... THAT.” Max waved her hands in a strange and complicated gesture that Alec took to mean ‘hot monkey lovin’. He grinned. Max ignored him. “That’d scar ME for life, never mind HIM.”

 

Alec shook his head, bemused. “He’s not 5, Max. I’m sure he knows all about ‘that’.” He deftly mimicked Max’s obscure hand gesture.

 

“So not the point, Alec.” Snatching his boxers off the floor, Max lobbed them across the room at him. “I want a long, hot shower.”

 

“But Maaax,” Alec whined in protest, his boxers dangling loosely from his hand, “why shower when we could be doing naked body things?”

 

Max cocked her head to one side. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t taking a shower require being naked?”

 

Alec blinked. “Good point.” He leapt off the desk and scrambled around the small office in a mad hunt for the rest of his clothes.

 

Max rolled her eyes. “Sketch was right. All you men ever think about is sex, sex, sex.”

 

Alec grinned unrepentantly as he shoved his legs into his jeans and pulled on his t-shirt. “Well, yeah. Can you blame us?” He swaggered over to Max. Catching her by the hips he pulled her flush against him. “I mean, look at you. A guy’d have to be blind not to want you.” He nibbled on her earlobe, his tongue tracing the whorls and folds of her ear.

 

“But you’re all mine,” he whispered against her skin, “and I’m not sharing.”

 

Max let slip a throaty little giggle. “Nope,” she murmured in complete agreement and snuggled into his embrace. Her soft breasts pressed against the hard planes of his chest.

 

Alec slid his hands up her back, tangling one in her silky dark hair. The other cupped the back of her neck, his thumb gently rubbing her barcode. Max shivered and felt an aching heat blossom between her legs at the sensuous touch.

 

Max tipped her head back so that her spine arched like a bow. Alec trailed his tongue down her exposed neck, licking and tickling the tender skin. Max slid her hands up under his shirt and stroked his chest and abs, marvelling at the feel of hard muscle beneath velvet skin. His muscles flexed involuntarily at her touch. Max smiled to herself and gently traced the contours and ridges of his muscled body, memorizing the feel of him. Alec groaned softly. Pulling her tighter against him, he licked along her collarbone and then fastened his lips over the hollow at the base of her throat and sucked.

 

“Mmmm,” she purred, her eyes half shut in pleasure. Suddenly she snapped her head up and pushed him away. “Not here, lover.” Before he could voice a protest she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him over to the door. Cracking it open, she cautiously stuck her head out.

 

Alec pressed his firm body the length of hers and made a great show of scanning the hallway over her shoulder. “Sector clear, ma’am,” he whispered in her ear.

 

Max rolled her eyes and lightly swatted him on the arm. “Smart ass.”

 

“Actually, it’s ‘smart aleck’ remember?” he said cheekily. He draped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her firmly against his side. Max slid her hand down his back to his ass and pinched it.

 

Startled by the playful gesture, Alec stared at Max in surprise, one eyebrow arched. “What was that for?”

 

Max grinned. “You know me, I just can’t resist your ass. But hey, if you’d rather I not...” Shrugging, she stepped away from him.

 

“Don’t tease, vixen,” Alec growled and stared intently at her from beneath lowered brows, his chin titled down to his chest. His eyes were a brilliant, stormy green; his gaze predatory.

 

Max felt a flush of heat surge through her body. She licked her lips. “Who’s teasing?”

 

Alec’s eyes dropped to her lips, avidly watching as her small, pink tongue traced the outline of her luscious lips. Latching onto her arm at the wrist, Alec set off at a jog through the maze of corridors leading to their quarters. Giggling, Max let herself be pulled along behind him. She was much too happy to protest at being manhandled. It was a turn on actually, how eager he was to make love to her.

 

Alec rounded the last corner and skidded to an abrupt halt. Max reacted too slowly to stop her forward momentum and collided with Alec’s back. Not that she really minded being pressed up against Alec. Standing on tiptoes, she peered over his shoulder and was shocked to see Zane, Jondy, Syl and Krit standing in a loose clump outside their quarters. Jondy’s hand hovered above their door in mid-knock.

 

“You’re up early,” Max blurted.

 

“So are you,” Zane replied with an easy grin. His face was open and honest and his attitude so laidback that Alec was reminded more of Sketchy than Zack, despite the physical similarity between the two X5 brothers.

 

“Uh... early morning meeting,” Max stammered. “Really early.”

 

Syl cocked her head to one side and pursed her lips, a thoughtful expression on her face. “But... aren’t those the clothes you two were wearing yesterday?”

 

Max blushed. Alec grinned smugly. “Busted,” he said with a complacent shrug.

 

Max dug her elbow into Alec’s side. Alec hunched over slightly, his hand curling protectively around his much abused ribs. “Ow! Pointy!” he complained with a pout.

 

Max glared at him. “Not helping!” she hissed under her breath.

 

Syl smothered a laugh. There were enough sparks between those two to start a forest fire; Smoky the Bear would not approve.

 

“We’re gonna go get some breakfast and then check out the obstacle course,” Jondy explained. “See if it’s the same as the one in Wyoming. You wanna come, Maxie? And you too, Alec,” she amended quickly.

 

“Yes, by all means Alec, come with and show us how it’s done,” Syl urged in a voice bordering on sultry. “Give us a chance to get... better acquainted.”

 

Her frank gaze roamed Alec’s body from head to toe, from the long legs outlined in tight denim to the firmly muscled abdomen and chest, barely concealed by the thin material of his tight black t-shirt, to the sculpted cheekbones, laughing hazel eyes and sleep-mussed hair that begged to be touched. The faint line of stubble on his chin gave him an air of danger. All of Manticore’s perfect creatures were beautiful, but the cocky X5 oozed sex appeal.

 

Alec grinned, amused by Syl’s appraising stare. He had the distinct sense that her provocative flirting was more to provoke Max’s jealousy than to entice him; he wondered briefly if he’d found an ally in her.

 

Max stared at Syl through slightly narrowed eyes, unsure of what to make of her sister’s frank appraisal of her mate. Unconsciously, she stepped closer to Alec and slipped her hand in his. Syl grinned broadly, which confused Max even more.

 

“So, are you coming or what?” Jondy’s impatient question wrenched Max’s attention out of her jumbled thoughts.

 

Her eyes flicked back and forth between Alec and her siblings’ happy, expectant faces. She chewed on her lower lip, a habit that only emerged when she was nervous or unsure. “Um, thanks guys but...” she stalled, her mind racing to come up with a better excuse than ‘actually, I’m really more in the mood to ravish pretty boy here until neither of us can walk.’

 

As much as she loved her siblings, if the world as they knew it was going to end in two days she wanted to spend what little time was left with Alec. Preferably naked. And not just because he’d asked her so plaintively yesterday but because it was what she really wanted, if she were honest with herself.

 

She just didn’t know how to be that honest with her siblings. Max suppressed a groan. Saying ‘no’ wasn’t something she was very good at – the number of reckless and stupid EO missions Logan had talked her into was proof positive of that.

 

Alec saw the torn look on Max’s face. What he really wanted was to find the nearest room with a door that locked and make mad, passionate love to Max. But what Max wanted was for him to spend time with her family. He shrugged, mentally promising himself they’d spend some ‘quality time’ together later. Preferably naked.

 

“Sure, why not. I know this great little diner, serves all the re-hydrated scrambled eggs you can eat. Mmm-mmm,” he joked, smacking his lips and rubbing his stomach for effect.

 

Max gaped at Alec, stunned speechless that he hadn’t beat a hasty retreat. She never thought he’d actually volunteer to spend time with her siblings. He was even smiling, and not with his usual smirk but a sincere smile.

 

Max hated to waste such a sweet gesture, but she was not in the mood to share him.

 

“Alec!” she said in tight voice, “we can’t. We have that thing, remember? That really important THING we hafta do?” She glared intently at him, her dark eyes burning holes into his.

 

“Thing? What thing?” Alec turned to Max, completely nonplussed by her reaction. Catching the look in her eyes, he wanted to kick himself. Max was actually choosing him over her siblings. ‘ _Yes!_ ’ he crowed and did a mental victory dance. Max couldn’t help but smile at him, amused by the exultant gleam in his eyes before he reined himself in and adopted a bright, innocent expression.

 

“Oh. Riiight. THAT thing.” Alec flashed an apologetic smile at Max’s sibs. “Sorry guys, but Maxie and I gotta go do something.”

 

“Yeah, each other,” Syl muttered in an undertone to Krit.

 

Krit snorted. “Oh yeah.”

 

Jondy mustered a small smile to cover her disappointment. “So, catch you for lunch, Maxie?”

 

“Um, yeah maybe. I’ll let you know Jon,” Max said in a distracted voice without tearing her gaze away from Alec.

 

Miffed at being cast aside by her favourite sister in favour of a make out session with the resident pretty boy, Jondy shot Alec a jealous, petulant look before flipping her blond hair over her shoulder with a regal toss of her head. “I’m starving. Let’s go find something to eat.”

 

Zane smiled affably at his youngest sister and Alec and followed in Jondy’s imperious wake. Syl and Krit brought up the rear of the little procession. “Take your time,” Syl said with a wink at Alec as she filed past. He flashed her a knowing grin.

 

Alec waited until her siblings were out of earshot before turning to face Max, one eyebrow cocked and his arms crossed over his chest. “Ok Maxie, what gives? I thought you were big on the whole family bonding thing?”

 

“Yeah, but not right now!” Max threw her hands in the air in exasperation. “Men.”

 

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a walking contradiction? Did’ja take a class in how to be inscrutable and unfathomable or is it just something that comes with the extra X chromosome?”

 

“Alec, shut up and kiss me,” she ordered.

 

“Yes ma’am.” Alec swept her into his arms and captured her lips in a deep kiss that was both gentle and urgent.

 

She opened her mouth to his questing tongue, relishing the feel of being in his strong, safe arms. His tongue swept her mouth, gently probing every corner and recess, as if memorizing the very taste and feel of her. Breathless and light-headed, her world spun lazily on its axis and she clutched his shoulders for balance and moaned softly against his lips. He deepened the kiss, his strong arm around her waist holding her up.

 

This was infinitely better than running a stupid obstacle course.

 

Alec backed Max up against their door and fumbled clumsily for the doorknob, unwilling to break contact with her lips long enough to raise his head and locate the damn thing. Max giggled when Alec’s hand roved ineffectually across the surface of the door but made no attempt to help.

 

Max broke from the kiss for some much needed air, and Alec immediately turned his attentions to her neck. A small whimper escaped her lips as he sucked on the pulse point in her throat. His warm breath slid over her skin and made her body quiver. Sliding her hands under his shirt she laid her palms flat against his stomach, kneading his abs with her fingers.

 

“Uh, morning Alec... Max,” said a bright and cheerful voice behind them.

 

“Whaddaya want, Dalton?” Alec’s reply was muffled, his lips busy nibbling on the soft skin of Max’s throat.

 

Max squirmed in Alec’s arms. Embarrassed stained her cheeks at being caught in such a compromising position with her SIC but she was helpless to do anything about it, pinned the way she was between Alec’s body and the unyielding door.

 

“Me? Nothing,” Dalton answered cheekily. “But Dix wants you in Command ASAP.”

 

Cold fear gave Max added strength. She shoved Alec away forcibly. “Why? What’s happened? Is it White?”

 

“Nah.” Dalton shrugged. “Dix just said something about cracking the disc like an egg and making an omelette.”

 

Max swallowed hard. Side-stepping Alec she moved to the nearest window and stared unseeing at the early morning world, shiny and new like a bright penny. A feeling of dread swirled through her veins. This was the point of no return. She sent a fervent pray to the Blue Lady that she would make the right decisions.

 

 _‘Wouldn’t that be nice for a change,’_  she thought bitterly. Her past was littered with wrong decisions, starting with that fateful night in ’09 – the first decision she ever made for herself, and what a disaster that was. Truth be told, between her and Alec, SHE was the real screw-up.

 

“Summon the council,” Alec ordered the X6, smoothly filling the gap when Max failed to issue the command herself. “Briefing room. Ten minutes.”

 

Nodding acknowledgement, the teenager turned on his heel and jogged briskly down the corridor.

 

Alec could smell Max’s fear and self-doubt. He flashed her a confident smile, dismayed by the sudden downturn of her mood. “This is good news, Max.”

 

“If you say so.” Max shrugged despondently, unable to shake an overwhelming feeling of foreboding. The very walls of Manticore seemed to be closing in on her, trapping her in a nightmarish world where failure was not an option and success might bear too high a price.

 

“I just can’t help but think we’re in way over our heads on this one, ya know? The loony-tune parade’s had 5,000 years to work out a foolproof plan. We got two days, if that.”

 

“Hey, c’mon now.” Alec swiftly closed the distance between them and laid a finger under Max’s chin and tipped her head up, forcing her to meet his eyes. “This is what we do, Max. Trust me. I know what I’m doing. White’s gonna regret joining the ranks of the homicidal nut jobs.”

 

Alec stared off into the middle distance, his face hardening as he took on the blank and steely-eyed gaze of X5-494. “I’ll make sure of it,” he vowed under his breath.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Every eye in the room was trained on Max, waiting for her as their self-appointed CO to open the meeting. Max resisted the urge to squirm uncomfortably in her seat in an effort to preserve the image of calm authority she was trying so hard to project. “Ok, let’s get this bitch over with. Dix, whaddaya got for us?”

 

Her hands were cold and clammy. She tucked them into her lap to hide their trembling and wondered, not for the first time, what lunacy had possessed her to claim command.

 

Dix cleared his throat and fiddled with the malformed goggle over his one good eye. He looked exhausted; terrible black bags lined his eyes and his pale skin had an unhealthy, papery texture. “Well, I, uh, I translated the four runes from your forearm, Max. They’re the ancient Greek astrological signs for Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. So, I’d say the planetary alignment is definitely the cult’s timetable.”

 

“Good.” Alec nodded his head and grinned in satisfaction.

 

“Good?!” Max sputtered. She stared incredulously at Alec. “Care to clarify what could possibly be good about having less than TWO DAYS to prevent world domination?!”

 

“I’m not big on the whole patience thing,” Alec replied with a nonchalant shrug. Annoyed that Max continued to stare at him as if he’d grown a second head, Alec tacked on the military explanation that should have occurred to her, had she spared two seconds to think about it.

 

“The longer we have to wait the greater the likelihood our resident whack-job and hater of all things transgenic gets a clue and identifies our location. Which, for the record, would be bad. Very, very bad.”

 

Max dropped her gaze to the table, knowing Alec was right. She really had to get off the Alec-is-an-idiot train before it derailed and took her down with it. “You’re right,” she admitted calmly, before turning her attention to Dix and signalling for the anomaly to continue.

 

Alec stared in some surprise at Max, but all he could see of her was her profile. Several seconds passed before he realized that Dix was speaking.

 

“... off the disc. Mostly it’s correspondence between the school headmaster and the high priestess. It’s pretty cryptic stuff, the kind of thing people write when they’re both in the know. There were a lot of references to something called ‘The Purification’. I’m guessing that’s our plague.”

 

“Nah, it’s a new line of skin care products,” Mole deadpanned.

 

That earned him a quick grin from Alec and a death glare from Max. Dix just forged on ahead, well acquainted with Mole’s irreverent streak by now.

 

“I also found a timetable,” Dix added brightly. A tiny rustle swept the room at the news, the sound of eight spines straightening as hope infused the room. “Basically, the cult plans to release the plague two days from now, exactly at dawn after some long, boring ritual. Twelve cities have been targeted for--”

 

“TWELVE?!” Max interrupted, aghast.

 

“‘Fraid so,” Dix nodded apologetically. “New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, Seattle, San Francisco, L.A., Phoenix, Houston, and Miami. All major population centres.”

 

“How are we supposed to stop TWELVE simultaneous terrorist attacks?” Max asked in a strangled voice.

 

“Easy,” Alec said with a reassuring smile. “We don’t. We hit the source first. Logic dictates a single stockpile. The cult may have inbred mutants in high places but trying to keep secret a dozen separate locations is like hiding a drag queen at a coming out ball. Someone’s bound to notice something. So we hit the stockpile before they divvy it up.”

 

“Brilliant plan, Alec, except that we don’t know where the hell it is!!” Max glared at Alec, hurt that he could be so calm. Alec was simply too practiced at concealing his emotions behind a bland face, and in her fear she missed the small signs of strain around his eyes.

 

“So if we don’t find it in time, we go to Plan B.” Alec shrugged nonchalantly. “We have strike teams waiting at the drop off sites and kick their ass before they can release the pathogen.”

 

“Any chance Her Snake-y-ness the high priestess dropped a dime on what flavour pathogen we’re talking about?” Mole asked around the cigar that was, as always, firmly ensconced between his teeth.

 

“Can’t be gas,” Alec said immediately. “It’s too unpredictable, especially over that large a dispersal area. Wind might just blow it out to sea. The cult’s not gonna risk 5,000 years of planning on bad weather.”

 

“Right.” Mole nodded. “Liquid it is then.”

 

“In one of her emails the high priestess joked about humans ‘toasting their deaths with their morning coffee’,” Dix said thoughtfully.

 

“Ah, well, there you have it then,” said Alec. All around the table heads nodded sagely.

 

Max bit her lip against a sudden surge of inadequacy. Apparently she and Joshua were the only two in the room who hadn’t connected the dots, but she was much too proud to admit it aloud. Fortunately, Joshua betrayed his ignorance first.

 

“So, what’s the plan for getting plague bitch into humans?” the gentle nomalie asked, his canine features scrunched in an expression of perplexity.

 

“Water treatment plants,” Alec answered. “Poison the water supply and the pathogen will spread throughout the entire city within hours. By the time the authorities track down the source and shut off the water, it’ll be too late. People will be dying like flies.”

 

“Oh.” Joshua shook his head mournfully. “Not good, Alec.”

 

“Definitely not good,” Alec echoed. Turning his attention to Dix, he asked, “So what do we know about the disease itself?”

 

“Um, quite a bit actually. I found a breakdown of the molecular structure in one of the files. First off, the pathogen is impervious to all known medical treatments. But, we already guessed that. It’s derived from the venom of the cult’s sacred snakes but it’s been genetically modified.” Dix smiled wryly. “Apparently the cult’s not above a little gene splicing if it’s to their advantage.”

 

Turning to his laptop, he brought up an image of a complex genome map and a 3-dimensional molecular model of the pathogen itself.

 

“Basically, the pathogen consists of two complementary strains. The first is highly infectious and manifests within a few hours. Fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, toxaemia, respiratory failure, circulatory collapse... At best, 20 percent of patients will recover.”

 

“But the second strain is the real kicker. It remains dormant inside the host for three days, then germinates, reproduces rapidly, and releases lethal toxins into the host’s bloodstream. It’s even more contagious than the first strain. And more deadly. Projected recovery rates for the second strain are nil.”

 

“Should the CDC be informed of our Intel?” asked the petite, Asian X5 now known as Reina. “They might make a valuable ally. At the very least they could begin work on a cure.”

 

“Forget the CDC. They’re idiots,” Max replied curtly, remembering her brief run in with Dr. George of the CDC and his inability to detect, much less comprehend, that the love bug virus was coded to a specific genetic sequence and therefore no threat to the populace at large.

 

“They’re out of their league,” she continued. “This plague is beyond their science, the cult will have made certain of that. They won’t even understand what they’re looking at. And I bet the cult has someone deep inside the CDC itself, to sabotage any progress they do make towards a cure. And we can’t afford to give away the game,” Max added. “ANYONE could be a Familiar and we have no way of knowing who. We can’t trust anyone with this.”

 

An image flashed across her mind’s eye – the runes signifying the dreaded Four Horsemen, against the barcode that marked her as transgenic. “We’re IT, people. There is no one else.”

 

A terse silence fell over the room.

 

“Clever bastards,” Alec whispered. His voice held an grudging note of admiration. “Panic will set in after the first strain hits and the bodies start piling up. There’ll be a mass exodus, just in time for the second strain to do its thing. People will run, thinking they’re saving themselves and their kids, but by then it’ll be too late. They’ll take their deaths with them to every corner of the country.”

 

“Yeah,” Dix concurred solemnly, “and if Canada and Mexico don’t close their borders quickly enough – and you know they won’t – the plague is gonna spread across the entire continent. The projected infection rates are incredible.”

 

Dix pressed a key on his laptop and the image on the screen was replaced by a map of North America. Bright red dots were superimposed over the twelve targeted cities. A few more keystrokes and the red highlighting over the targeted cities crept outward to the surrounding countryside, spreading across the map like a virulent blood stain.

 

A counter ticked off the days required for complete saturation. At Day 4 the red exploded across the map, tripling its speed. By Day 10 virtually no corner of the continent was left untouched by the contagion.

 

“North America will be a graveyard inside of a week... And that’s only Phase One.”

 

A shudder ran through Max’s small frame at Dix’s ominous words. She closed her eyes. “There’s a Phase Two?”

 

Dix nodded reluctantly. “I’m afraid so. Like I said before, the correspondence is pretty vague, but the priestess mentioned that certain generals were definitely in position to launch an appeal to the Senate to open three of the biggest US military arms depots in the country, including Fort Walsh in Texas. We know Senator McKinley is a Familiar, and I’ll bet he’s not the only one.”

 

“Yeah, but what’s the justification for seizing arms during a flu epidemic on steroids?” Mole demanded. “Bullets will cure a fever but they’re hell on the complexion.”

 

“Simple,” Max said in a dull voice. “Blame us. Claim this ‘Purification’ shit is a terrorist attack and that transgenics are behind it.”

 

Dix nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately, that’s the plan. The cult will claim we found a mutated virus in the bowels of TC and use that as a justification to seize the weapons and impose martial law.”

 

“Shit. The military has WMD’s and nukes stashed at Fort Walsh,” Mole pointed out needlessly.

 

“Once the cult has that kind of firepower at its disposal, they’re not handing them back. They’ll have sufficient means to take over the federal government. That is, if anything’s left by the time the plague has done its thing, which is doubtful.” Dix’s head dropped to his chest, his whole body sagging with weariness.

 

Max stared in mute, horrified fascination as the computer ran the projected infection rates over and over in an endless cycle of death. Once unleashed, the plague would touch off a domino effect – the death of a dozen cities leading to the destruction of the entire country, and the world itself. An unstoppable juggernaught, bringing death to everyone and everything she knew.

 

America might be just another broke ex-superpower, but it had enough biological, chemical and nuclear weapons stockpiled to keep the rest of the world at bay. The nukes alone would be sufficient deterrent against counter-attack. And once the cult retrofitted the bio-chemical warheads with their own particular brand of nasty, they could rain down ugly death on the entire planet.

 

Transgenics would get the blame, and humanity would be all too eager to believe the lie. And it would spark off a witch hunt that would make the mobs in Seattle look a peace parade by comparison, if the cult didn’t annihilate them first with their borrowed military hardware.

 

Her transgenic brain – designed with the ability to multitask and calculate complex contingency analyses and cost-benefit ratios within seconds – was numb, empty, and sluggish. Max didn’t have the slightest idea what to do. She didn’t even know where to start. Panic held her in its cold, hard grip.

 

‘ _I can’t do this. I don’t know HOW to do this. I wasn’t trained for this! I don’t know how to plan an assault. I didn’t even plan tactics for capture the flag when we were kids! Brin was our tactician. Brin and Zack. They always knew what to do. I just followed orders like a good little soldier!_ ’ Max struggled to draw breath past the tight band around her chest. Her heart hammered like a mad thing. ‘ _Zack, why aren’t you here fixing this for me?! I don’t know what to do!!_ ’

 

Never in her life had she felt so inadequate, not even when she woke inside Manticore to the sound of Zack’s borrowed heart beating in her chest. She wanted to flee so badly she could taste it.

 

Her panicked gaze flew straight to Alec.

 

He wore a commanding expression that seemed as natural to him as breathing. His attention was focused on the tactical recommendations being tossed back and forth across the briefing room like so many tennis balls, but he spared her a reassuring nod and laid his hand on her jean-clad leg, absently stroking her inner thigh with his thumb.

 

Max took a deep breath and released it slowly, reassured by Alec’s soldierly attitude as much as his soothing touch. Alec knew exactly what he was doing; he’d dealt with assault scenarios all the time as one of Manticore’s finest. ‘ _Thank God for that,_ ’ she thought fervently, not unaware of the irony of being grateful for his superior Manticore training.

 

She looked at him in mute appeal. ‘ _Tell me what to do._ ’

 

Alec caught the panicked, helpless look in Max’s eyes and smiled softly. None of them were unaffected by the prospect of world annihilation, not even Mole, despite his gruff assertions to the contrary. But Max lived in the world for 12 years – longer than she was in Manticore – and truly thought of it as her home.

 

Smoothly Alec took over the meeting, giving Max a few minutes to locate her self-control. “So, we know ‘who’, we know ‘when’, and we know ‘what’. The ‘why’ is pretty obvious.”

 

“Yeah,” Mole muttered darkly, “too much inbreeding and not enough ass-kicking.”

 

Alec ignored him. “The million dollar question is ‘where’. Dix, keep at the decryption, just in case there’s anything else of use on that disc. We need a target and we need it now. You can’t kill what you can’t shoot. Track military convoys, hack into DOD and NSA satellites, consult a psychic... I don’t much care what. Just find us that stockpile.” The nomaly nodded smartly, his tired countenance infused with new energy.

 

Alec turned to address the gruff lizard man on his right. “Mole, I need that weaponry list ASAP. No more last minute additions. I’m meeting a contact tomorrow night and I gotta know what the hell I’m s’posed to pick up.”

 

“Done.” Mole nodded.

 

Next Alec turned to the X5 representatives. “Lyall, see how many working communicators you can locate. We’re not going in deaf, dumb, and blind if I can help it. Reina, Keela, rank up the squads. Reassign unit members if necessary, but get me 12 strike teams at full strength.” The three X5s nodded smartly, barely resisting the urge to salute. Though Alec’s tone was casual, it still held an unmistakeable note of command.

 

Alec stared down the length of the table at Joshua. The gentle dog man looked back at him with a hopeful expression that betrayed how eager he was to contribute his meagre skills. “Big Fella, you’re in charge of the infirmary. Talk to the field medics, they’ll know what supplies we need.” Joshua grinned and bobbed his head eagerly, his long hair flapping wildly around his face.

 

Alec turned to Max with a disarming smile, fully expecting a glare or a pout – if not a full body assault – for his presumption in assigning duties to the troops. Although it was well within his rights as second-in-command, he doubted Max would see it that way. Despite spending her formative years in the military-school-from-hell, Max had an odd view of the chain of command; one that generally consisted of her bearing most of the responsibility and all of the blame.

 

“So, we done here, Maxie? Because some of us are still waiting on our morning shower.” Alec wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, hoping to provoke a reaction from Max. She was entirely too quiet, and as Alec could attest from long experience, a brooding Max was not a pleasant person to be around.

 

Max stared thoughtfully at Alec. Mole’s parting words from their little showdown the other day echoed in her mind. ‘ _You wanna be our leader? Fine. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. But don’t play general. Not if you want to win this little war of yours. Leave it to the real soldiers._ ’

 

She nodded to herself before fixing Alec with a look of polite curiosity, her head tilted to the side and one delicate eyebrow arched. “But what’s the plan, soldier boy?”

 

“The plan?” Alec echoed. “Well, let’s see...” He held up one hand and ticked his points off on his fingers. “One, decode the rest of the mystic mumbo-jumbo on that disc on the off-chance there’s a treasure map. Two, find White and his merry band of psychopaths. Three, get together enough firepower to make like Rambo. Four, kick some Familiar ass to the curb. Yep, that’s the plan. Oh! And somebody order pizza. I’m starving.”

 

“Alec!” Max rolled her eyes. “How exactly are we going to ‘make like Rambo’ as you put it?”

 

Alec blinked at Max, nonplussed by the simple question. He opened his mouth and then thought better of the response that leapt to mind and shut it with a snap; changed his mind and opened it again only to close it once more; and then stared at Max with a quizzical, slightly suspicious look on his handsome face, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. “You’re asking me?”

 

“What, did you suddenly go deaf? Yes Alec, I’m asking you,” Max said with exaggerated patience. “You don’t think I’m actually gonna plan this little shindig myself, do ya? In case you haven’t noticed, tactics really aren’t my thing. I’m more of a smash and grab kinda girl.” Max shrugged one delicate shoulder. “Whereas I’m betting Manticore taught you enough military history to out think any general, living or dead.”

 

“I was trained for Solo Ops.” Alec’s voice echoed through the suddenly silent room.

 

“So?” Max dismissed his objection with a wave of her hand. “A good assassin has to be able to think like his enemies in order to secure a target. And I doubt all your targets were civilian.” She briefly wondered just how many poor souls had met their end at Alec’s hand over the years and then dismissed the thought as unimportant. He had the skills and the training, which was all she really cared about.

 

Alec just looked at Max with a blank expression on his handsome face. Whatever his thoughts at Max’s abrupt attitude adjustment, they were firmly shuttered behind his mask.

 

“Planning an assault on the cult’s compound can’t be all that different from breaching a facility in pursuit of a target,” Max argued. “Plus, one of the few perks of leadership is getting to delegate shitty tasks. Tactics are your responsibility now, so bip bip bip, soldier boy.”

 

As soon as the words left her mouth, Max felt an immense sense of relief flood through her. Maybe it was cowardly to foist her responsibilities off on Alec, or maybe she was finally acting as smart as she was supposed to be.

 

And the way everyone sat a little straighter in their chairs at the news wasn’t lost on her either.

 

Max caught and held Alec’s eye. Alec swallowed hard at the trust shining in her dark, soulful orbs. A faint teasing smile crossed her lips.

 

“And Alec... if you mess this up and get us all killed, I’m sooo gonna kick your ass.”

 


	14. Chapter 14

The quad rang with the familiar sound of flesh striking flesh. Three dozen transgenic teenagers were squared off in two neat lines, their bodies moving in an instinctive, synchronized rhythm of punch and counterpunch. 

 

The news of the cult’s impending war on humanity – against the very country the transgenics were bred to defend – had spread through the ranks like ripples on a still pond. Sparring was the natural outlet for their nervous energy; a routine as familiar as breathing since they could march on chubby toddler legs.

 

But not one of those soldiers so earnestly honing their skills was over the age of 16.

 

Max sighed heavily, the sound dredged out of her from the tips of her toes, and leaned her aching head against the cool glass of her office window. One hand played absently with a lock of hair, weaving it around and around her fingers in what had become a nervous habit. Her brain was heavy with too many thoughts; each one pounding away at her skull with tiny sledgehammers.

 

White. Plague. Death. War. Loss. Grief. Failure.

 

And the thought that hammered at her hardest of all, over and over in endless recrimination, was knowing those children were polishing their skills in the fine art of war at HER behest.

 

‘ _Not children. Soldiers,_ ’ Max told herself firmly. This relentless training was a necessary evil because it was the only thing that would keep them alive. And not just through the coming battle, but for the rest of their miserable, hunted, haunted lives.

 

None of Manticore’s creations would ever have anything resembling a normal life and she knew it. They were the freak creations of a mad scientist; made, not conceived. And for that tiny lapse the world condemned them for soulless animals.

 

They would never be normal. The time for comforting delusions was over. THIS was their reality.

 

A sudden knock at the door pulled Max from her morbid musings and sent her across the room and into her desk chair. A few seconds scrambling in the top drawer and her hand found a pen, which she held poised above the papers on her desk in her best impression of ‘I’m working, not brooding.’ Not that she had the slightest idea what was written on the paper in front of her.

 

“Yeah,” she called in a voice that was meant to convey how busy and focused she was, but probably didn’t.

 

Dalton cracked the door wide enough to poke his head into the office, the rest of his lanky teenage body shielded by the thin wood. Max chewed the inside of her cheek to keep back the smile that threatened at the sight of his head floating disembodied through the air.

 

“Logan’s on the vidlink,” Dalton announced in a bored voice.

 

“Oh,” Max said tonelessly as her already sagging spirits sank a little further.

 

Dalton scrunched his face in confusion at Max’s rather un-Max-like behaviour. He thought he would end up flattened against the wall when Max barrelled past him in her rush to see Captain Tattle-Tale. Only Max wasn’t barrelling. She wasn’t even walking.

 

“Uh, he wants to talk to you,” Dalton clarified.

 

“Oh. Right. Yeah. Because no way he’d be calling to talk to Mole.” Max’s subconscious placed the mental image of Logan and Mole together and then quickly thrust them apart again. That was just too disturbing. But funny, in a perverted sort of way.

 

Shaking her head to clear it of thoughts that were even more distracted than usual, Max stood and joined Dalton in the corridor. “Go get Alec,” she ordered.

 

 

~*~

 

 

“Hey,” Max said awkwardly, striving to sound casual and composed and knowing she failed dismally.

 

“Hey,” Logan replied in that low, breathy tone he used that made him sound perpetually short on oxygen.

 

Logan drank in the sight of Max, noting anxiously how exhausted and worried she looked. Her hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail that made her dark eyes stand out in her too pale face, and she had lost weight in the week since he’d seen her last. ‘ _She’s not eating enough. Big surprise, with only Alec to look out for her,_ ’ he thought spitefully.

 

Max shifted her weight restlessly from foot to foot. Her eyes darted restlessly around the room, unable to meet Logan’s too-earnest gaze. The pained hopefulness in those clear blue eyes brought to mind a beaten dog; the one that knows a kick is forthcoming but can’t stop itself from hoping for a pat.

 

‘ _Fuck_ ,’ Alec swore silently from the doorway. Max’s shoulders were hunched and her head drooped on her slender neck; testament to Logan’s unfailing ability to suck the life out of the normally vibrant young woman. The hacker was a millstone around her neck. Prompted by his protective instincts, Alec crossed the room to Max in quick strides and pressed his hand to the small of her back.

 

Alec’s touch was an electric current coursing through her system; his warmth seeped through her thin cotton shirt, tendrils of heat that snaked through her body and unlocked tense muscles and soothed her frazzled nerves. Max sighed softly. Relaxing into his familiar touch, she craned her neck to look at him, a soft smile on her lips.

 

Alec couldn’t help but return the smile with one of his own. Her eyes were twin pools of melted chocolate; her gaze warm and inviting. Something in their velvet depths pulled him in, reaching inside him to stir those parts of him kept hidden away in the deepest reaches of his being.

 

The prickling of the fine hairs above his barcode reminded him of their audience. Alec glanced at the monitor. Logan was glaring at the couple, his blue eyes blazing and his mouth set in an angry line. Clearly he was not thrilled to see Alec.

 

‘ _Feeling’s mutual, buddy,_ ’ Alec scowled. He reached out with his free hand and tucked an errant strand of hair behind Max’s ear, unable to refrain from touching what Logan couldn’t. To remind the older man – and himself – that HE was Max’s present and Logan her past. It was petty, but he was taught to fight with whatever weapons came to hand.

 

He refused to acknowledge the guilt that hovered in the background at the other man’s pain. It wasn’t his fault. It was Max’s choice, not his.

 

Logan flinched from the easy intimacy between the two transgenics. It had taken three days of solid alcohol consumption to lower his defences sufficiently for him to admit that holding onto Max was a losing battle from the day she crashed through his skylight. And then there was Alec... How could half a man possibly hope to compete with an alpha transgenic male like Alec?

 

Max caught the pain and jealousy on Logan’s face in the periphery of her vision. Instantly she was flooded with remorse. What was she thinking – flaunting her relationship with Alec in front of him? She’d hurt him so badly by giving up on their doomed, fairy-tale love. Seeing her in Alec’s arms was just rubbing salt into the wound. ‘ _God, I’m a horrible person._ ’

 

Max dug her elbow into Alec’s side. “Knock it off,” she hissed, her eyes flicking from his to the monitor and back again. ‘ _Behave,_ ’ she begged with her eyes. ‘ _Logan_ _doesn’t need to see the PDAs. He already knows about you and me. Don’t rub it in his face._ ’

 

Alec felt Max’s body stiffen in his arms, watched as her eyes shifted to Logan’s and came back confused and embarrassed, and cursed helplessly to himself. Something that might have been pain flashed across his face but it was gone before it could register. He let his arm fall to his side.

 

What kind of game was she playing? Just that morning she chose him, both the soldier and the man, and now she was pushing him aside like a toy that no longer held her interest.

 

‘ _You didn’t think you were her first choice, did you?_ ’ the voice of his doubts taunted in a sibilant whisper. ‘ _You’re just the lie she told to keep Miracle Boy safe, remember? A convenient distraction. Good enough to fuck, but not good enough to keep._ ’

 

Biting back a growl of discontent, Alec stepped clear of Max, opening a gap between their bodies. He could sense Max watching him but he locked his eyes resolutely on the monitor in front of him, suddenly so angry with her that he had to shove his hands in his pockets to hide their shaking.

 

She wanted to play her little games? Fine. But he wasn’t giving in this time. Let her make the next move; let her come to him for a change.

 

He wasn’t going to be her pawn today.

 

Max scanned Alec’s features intently but with his face in profile to her she couldn’t read his expression. ‘ _Doesn’t he get how wrong it is to flaunt us in front of Logan?_ ’ She studiously ignored the shame that told her rejecting Alec like that was every bit as wrong. ‘ _Whatever._ ’ She didn’t have time to deal with Alec’s mercurial mood swings right now. ‘ _He’ll get over it._ ’

 

Alec plastered on a cheerful smile, as if Max hadn’t just stabbed him in the heart and left him for dead. “Logan, old buddy... what’s up?”

 

“I was talking to Max,” Logan ground out from between clenched teeth.

 

“Careful Loggie,” Alec chided, “or I might think you’re not happy to see me.”

 

“Heaven forbid,” Logan replied testily. Alec just continued to smile that insanely cheerful grin of his, not in the least deterred.

 

“Alec, don’t you have someplace else to be?” Logan asked impatiently.

 

“Nope.” Alec rocked back on his heels, still smiling.

 

Logan struggled to keep his composure. “I have some VERY important tactical information for Max, so if you would excuse us...”

 

“Logan, Alec’s my second-in-command,” Max announced impatiently. “He stays. I'm just going to tell everything him anyway.”

 

Logan closed his mouth with a snap. ‘ _Alec’s her SIC? How did that happen?_ ’ he wondered, though he knew he probably shouldn’t be so surprised. Max and Alec were practically inseparable on every heist and EO mission last year, whether Max wanted him there or not. ‘ _She probably gave him the title just to shut him up,_ ’ he thought waspishly.

 

‘ _Or maybe she named him SIC because he’s a competent soldier,_ ’ his conscience chided.

 

Logan breathed in deeply and then exhaled in a long sigh. Composure restored – at least marginally – he launched into his tale, resigned to Alec’s presence. “I got a report through the Eyes Only Informant Net about a smuggling operation down at the docks a couple of nights ago. Last night Asha checked it out for me, and you’ll never guess who she ran into.” He was met with blank, rather impatient stares from the two transgenics. Logan sighed. He’d forgotten how tetchy they both were. “White. White was there, in a meeting with--”

 

“Hey, hold up!” Alec interrupted hotly. “You sent ASHA to spy on WHITE?!”

 

Max glanced sharply at Alec, the concern in his voice a reminder that he’d once actively pursued the blonde girl.

 

“No!” Logan protested indignantly. “I told you, it was an Eyes Only mission. How was I to know White was involved? Besides, she got away clean. White had no idea she even was there.”

 

“No thanks to you,” Alec muttered under his breath, relieved that Asha was safe. He liked the cute blonde; she was a good friend, even if Max didn’t think so. He smiled to himself, remembering the night of Max and Logan’s twelve-hour cure. Sex and alcohol seemed like such a good way to forget, to blank out the mental pictures of Max and Logan writhing together in a tangle of naked, sweaty limbs. But sleeping with Asha wasn’t the answer and they both knew it. And he was just as relieved as she that nothing had happened between them, though he would never admit to it. He did have a reputation to protect.

 

Max bit her lower lip and looked away from Alec. ‘ _What is it with Asha and my boyfriends? She’s not even that cute!_ ’ she huffed dismissively, even as she refused to acknowledge the small bite of jealousy gnawing at her heart.

 

Alec heard Max’s heartbeat start to race and her breath quicken, and he caught a subtle change in her scent. Anger mixed with something else, something darker and more destructive. ‘ _Is Max... jealous?_ ’ Shaking his head to rid himself of thoughts that were no doubt products of his own wishful thinking, he forced his attention back to the conversation.

 

“As I was saying,” Logan spared a disapproving glance for Alec, “White had a meeting with this man – Dr. Theodore Cross.” Logan tapped his keyboard and his image on the monitor was replaced by a photo of the two men outside Warehouse 19, both staring fixedly into the night sky.

 

“Dr. Cross is a world renowned biochemist researching ways to modify genetic material in order to produce vaccines to life-threatening diseases like cancer and AIDS. But anyone who knows what he’s doing could easily use that same research to alter existing viruses, making them even more deadly.” Logan took a deep breath. “So, between Dr. Cross’s area of expertise and Sandeman’s prophecy, I’d say the cult is planning to unleash some kind of... superplague.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, we know all about that part,” Max cut Logan off in an agony of impatience. “Get to the point already. WHERE were they meeting?”

 

“Seattle docks,” Logan replied, slightly miffed by Max’s rudeness. “Warehouse 19, to be exact.” A frown took root between his eyebrows. Why did he get the feeling he was the only one who thought his conclusions were a breakthrough? What hadn’t they told him?

 

Alec nodded thoughtfully to himself, his mind racing. It made perfect sense. Seattle was a port city so it was easily accessible; the municipal government and law enforcement were corrupted and easily bribed; and White already had a presence in the area.

 

The warehouse would be heavily guarded by the best the cult had to offer. More importantly, it would be swarming with priests and scientists, all of them fussing over their precious plague. Alec’s lips curled into a wolfish grin. A successful attack against the warehouse would not only scuttle the cult’s plans for world domination, it would strike a death blow against the cult’s inner workings.

 

“Of course,” Max breathed. A warehouse. A warehouse large enough to store the fatal dose for all twelve cities. Unlooked-for hope was rekindled in her breast, suffusing her tired body with new energy and determination. Logan had found the last piece of the puzzle. Alec would come up with a kick-ass plan, and they would pound the stupid cult into the ground.

 

They would end this thing. They would win.

 

“Thank you Logan,” Max said sincerely, her eyes bright with gratitude. “I knew you’d come through for us. You always do.”

 

Alec snapped his head around to look at Max. Typically, she only had eyes for Logan. The look of unquestioning loyalty and absolute trust on her face was almost blinding.

 

Of course Max should be thrilled by Logan’s Intel. But did she have to make it sound like a religious experience?

 

‘ _Saint Logan saves the day,_ ’ Alec thought sarcastically. ‘ _Never mind WE’RE the ones who’ll be putting our lives on the line in this war._ ’

 

Max had never looked at him that way. Not once.

 

Envy and jealousy churned inside him but he forcibly shoved those feelings aside. Now was not the time.

 

“That’s not all,” Logan continued. Alec groaned silently. “Asha said White and Dr. Cross were both staring at the same point on the skyline. It took me a while to calculate their line of sight from the photos but I finally did. It’s the Space Needle. It has to be. It’s the only building in that direction that fits the angle. So, obviously whatever attack the cult has planned is going to be launched from the Needle. Some kind of air-borne biochemical weapon, I’d say. ” Logan beamed with pride at the two transgenics, certain in his own mind that he’d solved part of the riddle.

 

Max bit her tongue to hold back a strangled laugh. If only a gas attack against a single city was the extent of the cult’s psychotic plan.

 

“Um...” She glanced over at Alec, helpless to find the right words. Keeping Logan informed of what they knew of the breeding cult’s plan had somehow completely slipped her mind.

 

“Well there goes three hours of your life you’ll never get back,” Alec chortled. “But hey, thanks for coming out.”

 

Logan glared at Alec, his blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Alec smirked broadly and rocked back on his heels, his thumbs hooked jauntily through the belt loops of his jeans. “The Space Needle’s completely irrelevant.”

 

“And you know this because you’re privy to the cult’s plan,” Logan scoffed.

 

“Yeah. We translated the disc. Oh wait,” Alec snapped his fingers, his eyes wide and innocent, “wasn’t that your job?”

 

He glanced sidelong at Max before he returned his gaze to Logan, his meaning perfectly clear in the tilt of his head and the sardonic arch of his eyebrow. The hacker bristled, his blue eyes snapping angrily at Alec for having the temerity to imply he had failed Max.

 

And the fact that the transgenic was right – again – just fuelled his ire.

 

“Alec!” Max hissed. “Not helping here.” Brown eyes bored into hazel, a silent warning in their depths not to stop bait the hacker any further.

 

“No, of course not. So sorry to disappoint.” Sarcasm dripped from Alec’s words. He tossed Max and Logan both a look she couldn’t translate and stormed off. Max sighed wearily and rubbed her throbbing temples; she really hated when he did that.

 

Logan’s heart thudded loudly in his ears and he leaned forward in anticipation, his tired blue eyes locked on Max. He knew what came next. This was where Max would roll her eyes and turn to him and smile and shake her head in exasperation. And Logan would smile back and praise her for her forbearance in putting up with the annoying X5.

 

Only Max didn’t. Didn’t roll her eyes. Didn’t sigh. Didn’t ask Logan to commiserate with her for putting up with ‘the annoying one.’ She didn’t even tear her eyes away from Alec.

 

“Thanks Logan, we can take it from here,” she said distractedly. “I’ll let you know how it goes. Unless people start dying, in which case I think we can take a pass on the long-winded explanations and just jump straight to conclusions.”

 

She turned to look at him then, with a faint smirk on her beautiful face that was so eerily familiar it made Logan’s stomach churn. And then she walked away, a “See ya,” tossed carelessly over her shoulder.

 

Max marched across the room towards Alec. His face was inscrutable, but there was a tinge of sullenness around his eyes and mouth that irked her. ‘ _What is his problem? Does he not get that Logan just found us the cult’s FUCKING STOCKPILE?! Hello, ungrateful much?_ ’ She crossed her arms to keep from shaking him.

 

“Alright, what bug crawled up your ass and died?” Max demanded angrily. “Logan just handed us the location to the cult’s stockpile and you totally blew him off!”

 

“Possible location,” Alec corrected.

 

“Possible?” Max glared at Alec, annoyed by his cavalier dismissal. Logan deserved better than that. He found the location; without his help they would still be floundering uselessly in the dark.

 

“Yeah. Possible. As in unconfirmed. Asha saw White but not the stockpile.” ‘ _Trust Max not to catch that little detail. Too busy leading the Logan-is-my-hero brigade,_ ’ he thought morosely.

 

Max sighed in exasperation; whatever Alec’s problem was, they didn’t have time for it. ‘ _Petty male posturing,_ ’ she grumbled to herself. “Alec, Logan wouldn’t give us the location if he wasn’t sure about this,” she said impatiently. “He knows what he’s doing.”

 

“So do I,” Alec ground out.

 

“Right.” Max snorted. “White meets a science geek at a supposedly abandoned warehouse in the middle of the night – a warehouse that just happened to receive an illegal shipment – and you’re all ‘maybe it’s just a coincidence.’ What more do you want? A neon sign? X marks the spot? Come off it, Alec! It’s not a fucking coincidence.”

 

“And it couldn’t possibly be a trap, could it Max? Because White’s never tried anything like that before,” Alec said sarcastically. Was Max really so naive as to think White wouldn’t use her well-known association with Eyes Only as bait?

 

Alec abruptly tore his gaze from Max’s. With one hand he signalled to someone behind her to step forward. “Malachai.”

 

Max stiffened in shock; only then noting the presence at her back. She forced herself to turn slowly, casually – as if she hadn’t been taken completely unaware by the newcomer’s arrival.

 

Malachai was a slightly built X5 with skin the colour of midnight and a closely-shaved skull. Handsome and well-built in a bland, conventional way, he was the kind of man who could easily blend into a crowd. Forgettable. Max immediately pegged him for a member of Manticore’s elite Surveillance & Reconnaissance team.

 

He sent a long, probing look her way. Max raised her chin defiantly and stared back; she refused to be intimidated by anyone. He smiled, his teeth a flash of white against his dark skin, then turned and nodded solemnly to Alec. “ 494.”

 

“S’Alec now.”

 

“Alec.” Malachai shrugged indifferently. “You have an assignment for my team?”

 

‘ _Straight to business. No small talk,_ ’ Max noted. ‘ _Solider boy through and through._ ’ And judging from his attentive but not quite deferential posture, Malachai held rank similar to Alec’s own. ‘ _Section leader,_ ’ Max guessed.

 

“Yep,” Alec nodded, “Seattle docks, Warehouse 19. Received an illegal shipment two nights ago. One of Eyes Only’s flunkies spotted White on site, so it might be our pathogen. Confirm the cargo and get me a head count,” Alec ordered. “Maintain strict radio silence. Do NOT get yourselves caught peeking in windows.”

 

Malachai shot Alec an insulted look but all he said was, “What’s our timeframe?”

 

“Less than 24 hours. If that isn’t our stockpile, we need time to deploy intercept teams across the country.”

 

“24 hours,” Malachai repeated. He frowned. “Tight.”

 

Alec arched one eyebrow. “Are you telling me you’re not up for the job? And here I thought your team was the best, bar none.” Alec spoke softly but there was a hard, uncompromising edge to his voice that made it clear he would not tolerate failure.

 

Malachai snapped to attention. “We are, sir,” he replied in a curt, clipped tone. “We will not fail the mission.”

 

“No, you won’t,” Alec said evenly. “Now get your ass in gear. Time’s a-wasting.” With a brisk nod, Malachai spun on his heel and marched from the briefing room. “And don’t call me sir,” Alec called after him absently.

 

Max stared wide-eyed at Alec, her eyes shrouded with disbelief. White was neither a stupid man nor a careless one. He would have anticipated a counterattack from the transgenics and he would have taken the necessary precautions. And if he or one of his uber-Familiars caught so much as a glimpse of the recon team, it was all over.

 

No, it was much better to go in blind and trust to speed, strength, and luck. It had always worked for her in the past. Hell, it worked for her and Alec every time White held a group of transgenics captive. Simply bust in unannounced, rough up the guards, and snatch the pathogen. End of story.

 

Besides, she owed Logan her loyalty on this. His information had always been right before.

 

“Alec, surprise is pretty much our ONLY tactical advantage right now!” Max exclaimed testily. “Logan’s right about the location and you know it. Why the fuck are you risking tipping off White?”

 

Alec stared at Max, disgruntled by the sudden outburst. Why was she even arguing with him? Confirming unreliable Intel before engaging the enemy was standard operating procedure. ‘ _Because it’s Logan,_ ’ he answered himself. _‘Because he is never wrong, whereas I’m nothing but a screw-up._ ’

 

Why bother giving him tactical command if she was going to fight him on every decision?

 

Max had her arms crossed defiantly and one booted foot was tapping impatiently on the floor; clearly she was waiting for an answer and wasn’t about to leave without getting one. Alec just shrugged.

 

“Arrg!” Max threw her hands in the air in frustration. “Alec! I. Trust. Logan. So should you.”

 

“It’s not about trust, Max.”

 

“So what IS it about then, huh?!”

 

Alec whirled around to face her. “I am NOT running a mission on second-hand Intel.” He raked a hand through his hair then muttered under his breath, “People die that way.”

 

“People die?” Max repeated condescendingly with an elaborate eye roll. “God Alec, could you be more melodramatic?”

 

“Melodrama--” Alec choked on the word. He stepped closer to Max, looming over her, his jaw set and nostrils flaring as he struggled to control his temper at the unjust accusation. “You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about, Max,” he spat out, looking down on her.

 

“So tell me!” Max stepped forward also, her eyes locked on Alec’s in direct challenge. “You talk a lot but you never say anything. So tell me why you don’t trust Logan’s word on this. Make me understand, because I sure as hell don’t get you right now.”

 

Alec’s eyes glittered dangerously. Max could see anger, hurt, injustice, and a biting sense of guilt swirling in those icy emerald depths. She swallowed hard, her own anger momentarily forgotten. “Talk to me,” she repeated.

 

He knew the second her anger faded by the softening of her eyes, but the challenge was still there and he found himself responding to it. She wanted the truth; he would oblige her. For once he would make her listen, make her understand.

 

“In 2018 a freelance agent hired by the Chechens broke into an R&D lab on contract to the Department of Defence and stole the schematics for a new generation in attack stealth drones. An advanced prototype, undetectable by radar or satellite imaging and capable of carrying an atomic payload that could level a city.”

 

Not even 25 years of fighting had subdued Russia’s most rebellious republic. The Chechens had oil and drug money to finance an attack, and a ruthless disregard for civilian casualties. Obliterating Moscow would destabilize the CIS and disrupt world trade, thereby hurting American interests in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Naturally, America wasn’t about to stand idly by.

 

“Diplomatic relations between American and Russia were strained because of Gazprom and the pipeline,” Alec explained, “so known American operative were not welcome on Russian soil. The National Security Council didn’t want Russia informed of the theft because the prototype contravened more than one arms treaty. So the retrieval op was handed over to Manticore.”

 

“And Manticore sent you,” Max said. It was a statement, not a guess.

 

“Myself and X5-683,” Alec corrected. “It was her first covert op. She’d just qualified for solo status and I was ordered to evaluate her performance in the field.” Alec smiled fondly. “You would have liked her, Max.”

 

‘ _Would have?_ ’ Max thought with foreboding, catching Alec’s use of the past tense.

 

“683 had a wicked sense of humour,” Alec continued. “She was always making up ridiculous nicknames for the guards and lab techs. And she loved chocolate. And hot baths.”

 

Max tensed at the sadness that tinged Alec’s voice. She could guess what dark road this tale was headed down, and it didn’t involve happy-ever-afters.

 

“Our orders were to retrieve the disc and eliminate the freelancer and anyone else who had access to the schematics.” Alec shrugged dismissively. “A standard op, nothing special.”

 

Max winced slightly, appalled by his cavalier attitude towards murder. ‘ _That’s not Alec talking, that’s Manticore,_ ’ she reminded herself fiercely. ‘ _He’s not like that anymore. He’s not a cold-blooded killer. He’s not Ben._ ’

 

“We were smuggled into Russian airspace in the cargo hold of an Air Georgian freight plane and executed a night drop into the Caucasus Mountains. The Chechens were camped in a remote set of caves high in the mountains. A battalion of Russian troops was bivouacked in a shanty town in the next valley.” As he spoke, Alec straightened his spine and squared his shoulders, unconsciously adopting the ‘at ease’ posture, and his voice took on the flat, unemotional timbre of a soldier reporting to his superior. Max shivered at the transformation in him.

 

“The CIA had a highly placed informant – Field General Dmitri Sokholov’s mistress – and they paid her for advance warning of all troop movements in the area. According to her information no combat manoeuvres were scheduled – routine patrols only, so we were free to infiltrate the rebel’s camp without fear of exposure or political reprisals from Moscow.”

 

Alec shrugged. “The informant had proven her worth in the past. She had a practical streak – knew the general would tire of her eventually and toss her back on the street where he found her, and she wasn’t fool enough to risk her nest egg by passing off idle gossip or rumours as genuine information. So we had no reason to doubt her report.”

 

“But Moscow was putting some serious pressure on the General, and he ordered an unscheduled night sortie against the rebel base camp. Only he and the mistress were on the outs, so she never knew about it. So neither did we.”

 

“The Russians attacked 20 minutes after 683 and I breached the camp. In all the confusion, no one even noticed us. So you could say it worked to our advantage.” Alec laughed hollowly, a harsh, grating sound without the slightest humour in it. “Yeah. Right up until a mortar shell hit the building we were sheltering behind.”

 

Alec’s eyes drifted out of focus as he got swept up in his memories of that night – clawing through the wreckage of the ruined building, sharp metal raising jagged cuts on his bare hands... the thin trickle of blood that ran from the corner of 683's mouth, staining her pale skin... the faint sucking noise as he pulled free the metal rebar that had pinned her so cruelly to the ground, the end of it bright red with blood and gore... the desperate plea for mercy in her pain-dulled eyes... her dead weight across his shoulder as he hiked for three days through the Caucasus Mountains to the rendezvous point...

 

“What happened?” Max asked in a voice that was barely a whisper.

 

“She bled out.” The lie slid effortlessly from his tongue. He fixed Max with a hard stare. “Never trust your life to second-hand Intel. Even you were at Manticore long enough to know that, Max. We check it out ourselves or no one goes in.”

 

Max hesitated only slightly then dipped her head in acquiescence. “You’re right.”

 

“Course he is.” Mole’s gruff voice rang out from the doorway. “You think we put up with him just because he’s so pretty?”

 

“And you said you’d never love me for my mind,” Alec smirked at Mole.

 

Mole shrugged. “It’s twisted and perverted.”

 

“So are you,” Alec shot back.

 

“Damn straight.”

 

“Could you two keep the love fest till after hours please?” Syl asked with a roll of her eyes as she pushed past Mole into the briefing room. “Some of us just ate.”

 

Max’s eyes lit up at her sister’s entrance, and Alec turned his head to hide his quick grin. Mole had agreed – reluctantly and with much grumbling and cigar-chomping – to include Syl on the weapons team; Alec’s way of apologizing for Mole’s abrasive ‘Niners suck’ speech.

 

“Whaddaya got for me?” Alec extended his hand towards Mole, suddenly all business. The transhuman immediately relinquished the supply list.

 

Alec flipped through the pages, rapidly scanning the rather extensive list. His eyes flicked up to meet Mole’s at a few of the more unorthodox items, but the lizard just shrugged. Alec nodded thoughtfully and announced, “It’s do-able.”

 

Curious, Max pulled the pages from Alec’s hand. Her face darkened the further she read down the list. Crumpling the paper in her clenched fist she waved it under Alec’s nose. “Sniper rifles, long-range scopes, silencers... We don’t need all this shit, Alec. It’ll only weigh us down in a fight.”

 

Alec sighed in resignation. “Max, I have no intention of letting our people get caught in close combat with those fuckers.”

 

“What?!” Max sputtered. “So that’s your brilliant plan? Hide in the shadows and shoot them?!”

 

“Uh, yeah. That would be the most efficient way to defeat them.” Alec replied quietly. “Max--”

 

“Don’t ‘Max’ me,” the fiery brunette said sharply. “We’re not inside Manticore anymore. We do NOT have to solve everything with a bullet. There are other ways.”

 

“Like what, exactly? Knock White and his bully-boys unconscious and leave them for the cops to find?”

 

“Why not?” Max crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Alec belligerently.

 

“Because it won’t work,” Alec replied with infinite patience. “White will just flash his government badge and walk away. And try again. You know that, Max.”

 

“Logan could do an EO hack,” Max argued stubbornly.

 

Alec gave Max a pitying look. “Be serious, Maxie. The cops aren’t going to listen to Eyes Only. He’s a subversive, remember?”

 

Max opened her mouth to defend the hacker, her brown eyes snapping angrily but Alec continued before she could get a word out.

 

“Max, they’re trying to rid the planet of humanity. We’re playing a zero sum game here – them or us. Check your scruples at the door because now is not the time to fight fair. We can’t afford to let even one shipment leave that warehouse.”

 

The intensity of Alec’s gaze held her rooted to the floor. “Ask yourself Max,” he said in a steely voice, “are you willing to risk OC and Sketchy? Or Logan? Are you prepared for what might happen if we don’t respond with terminal force?”

 

Max gulped and drew breath to protest, but suddenly found she had nothing to say. After what seemed like hours she closed her eyes and let out a weary sigh, her shoulders slumping with the exhalation. “Fine. Just don’t expect me to play gunfighter.”

 

Alec regarded her intently for several seconds then nodded, satisfied. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Maxie.” He grinned mischievously and said in a teasing voice, “What about a sling shot?”

 

“And what’ll she throw at ‘em... spit balls?” Mole protested. “Nah, I vote for a blow gun.”

 

Alec chuckled at the mental image of Max skulking around the Seattle docks with a six-foot bamboo pole raised to her lips. “Un un. She’d probably trip and get me in the ass.” He pursed his lips in thought. “I know,” he said with a snap of his fingers, “cross bow.”

 

“Oh yeah,” Mole agreed with a wicked light in his yellow eyes, his head bobbing. “Puts a whole new spin on the phrase ‘going medieval on their ass’,” he chortled.

 

“I could get her a chain mail hauberk,” Alec offered. “Betcha the Seattle Museum’s got one.”

 

“Argh!” Max threw her hands in the air and glared at the pair of them. “How old are you two – 5??”

 

“Sorry Max,” they chorused in unison, wide innocent smiles plastered on their faces.

 

“Can we just get back on track, please?” she asked, working hard to suppress her own smile.

 

“Right. No problem Maxie. Um... where were we again?” Alec asked, scratching the back of his head. Mole helpfully pointed to the supply list with his cigar.

 

“Oh yeah. Supplies. Gotta have supplies.” Alec retrieved the list from Max’s grasp and carefully smoothed the crinkled pages. Max just sighed and rubbed her temples.

 

“So is this your specialty?” Syl asked Alec curiously. Her head was tipped to one side and she was watching him with a thoughtful expression. “Battle tactics?”

 

“What? No!” Alec protested and unconsciously laid one hand on his flat abs. Max grinned.

 

“Do I look invisible to you?” he asked.

 

“Huh?” Syl’s forehead crinkled in confusion at the odd question.

 

“Nothing. Never mind.” Alec laughed and waved it off. “I was covert ops.”

 

“Assassinations,” Max corrected with a distasteful look. The word tasted like ashes in her mouth.

 

“Yes Max,” Alec said with sarcastic patience. “Assassinations.”

 

“Uh... correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t that the whole point of the gene splicing-slash-military training dealio? To turn us all into the perfect little assassins?” Syl asked, not understanding the reason for the disgust in Max’s voice or the hard edge to Alec’s.

 

“No, we were designed as advanced infantry soldiers. Trained to kill on the battlefield,” Alec corrected bluntly. “Only the best of us qualified for covert ops.” There wasn’t a trace of false humility in Alec’s voice. Across the table, Mole’s scaly head nodded in confirmation.

 

“You say that like solo status was something special, something to be proud of,” Max spat out.

 

“It was my JOB, Max.” Alec pinned her with a look, his hazel-eyed stare cold and hard. “Don’t bust my chops over it.”

 

Max stared back, her brown eyes snapping. By the angry and annoyed look on her face, Syl surmised that she and Alec had had this conversation before and Alec was deliberately missing the point.

 

Alec was the first to break eye contact. He pointed to Syl with one finger. “You can kill a guy with a sniper rifle from a mile out.” He swivelled to point at Mole. “You can send in a specialist strike team and do some major damage. Or,” and this time he pointed to himself, “you can send in one solo operative who arranges for a clever accident to happen.”

 

“A car bomb is not an accident, Alec,” Max said huffily.

 

“That was a message,” he hissed back.

 

Max quickly raised her hands, palms out in a conciliatory gesture, knowing full well she went too far. The muscles in Alec’s cheek were twitching from the tight set of his jaw and his eyes were dark and hard. “I know,” she said quickly, “I’m sorry.” She had the grace to flush guiltily.

 

“Whatever.” Alec glanced from the list in his clenched fist to Mole. “We done here?”

 

“Yep.” Mole shot Max a dirty look and chomped down hard on his cigar, nearly biting off the end of it in his anger.

 

“Good.” Alec tossed his pen to the table and left the room without so much as a second glance at Max.

 

Max scrubbed her face with her hands. “Shit,” she muttered under her breath. ‘ _When will I learn to just shut the hell up?_ ’

 

Mole snorted in derision. “Ya think?” Shaking his head in disgust he stomped out of the room, muttered curses and imprecations drifting behind him.

 

“Ok, what the hell was that all about?” Syl demanded as soon as she and Max were alone.

 

“Alec screwed up,” Max replied softly, her eyes on her feet.

 

“ALEC screwed up?” Syl asked incredulously. Her eyebrows crawled up her forehead and disappeared into her hairline. “Max, I’m surprised you can still talk around the giant foot in your mouth.”

 

Max had the grace to blush, knowing she was being horribly unfair to Alec. She fiddled with the pen Alec had tossed on the table, turning it end over end with shaking hands. “Alec knows I didn’t really mean it,” she offered lamely.

 

“Really,” Syl said, disbelief colouring her tone. She crossed her arms over her chest and levelled a stern look at Max. “So that’s why he stormed out of here without sticking his tongue down your throat or some other totally inappropriate public display.” Syl shook her head in exasperation; Max was so clueless sometimes, SHE ought to have been the blonde. “Max, if you didn’t mean it, why the hell did you say it?”

 

Max shrugged one shoulder. “I dunno. It’s kinda like a disease with me. I swear Manticore forgot to put in that filter between my brain and my tongue. You know, the one that’s s’posed to tell me when to keep my big fat mouth shut.”

 

“Looks like,” Syl said evenly. “Max... I don’t know what the hell that was all about. But you hurt him, so suck it up and go apologize already. Or your big sis is gonna kick your ass into next Tuesday. Make this right.”

 

Max opened her mouth to protest but at the implacable look on Syl’s face she closed it again with an audible snap, nodded reluctantly, and slowly trudged across the room.

 

“Sometime this year,” Syl yelled at Max’s slowly retreating figure.

 

 

~*~

 

 

‘ _Ok Max, you can do this. Just open the door, walk in, and tell him you’re sorry. It’s no biggie._ ’ Only it obviously was, given that she’d been standing outside his office door for the last five minuets. She glanced up and down the corridor nervously. Knowing Syl, her big sister would be by sooner or later just to make certain she went through with it, and the apology would be so much less sincere if she had to be hauled into his office by her ear.

 

Max brushed her hair from her face with rough hands, tucking it impatiently behind her ears. ‘ _Ok, so I just walk in there and... and say what exactly? “Hey Alec, sorry I reminded you that you killed the one true love of your life, I didn’t mean it, I was just angry.” Yeah, right._ ’ She snorted aloud in derision. ‘ _Like he’d get that._ ’

 

But... he would. He always did. Alec understood her in a way no one else had; better even than she understood herself, with a perspicacity that frightened her sometimes. He knew how frustration clouded her judgement – even on her best days – messing with her head and prompting her to say things she never meant and didn’t really believe. He had to get it; he’d teased her about it often enough.

 

Squaring her shoulders resolutely, Max pushed open the door and crossed the threshold before she could lose her nerve. Alec raised his head from his paperwork, an unreadable expression on his face. His grief hung heavy in the air, a palpable thing that filled the space between them.

 

“I’m sorry,” Max said to the floor, suddenly finding her bootlaces fascinating. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

 

“Brought what up?” Alec asked amiably.

 

Max glanced up sharply. His lips were curved in a faint, polite smile. She stared at him for several seconds, unsure whether he was goading her or just trying to escape the subject. Taking a deep breath, Max decided to risk the confrontation. “Rachel.”

 

Alec flung himself out of his chair and turned away from her, the tautness of his t-shirt across his tense back and shoulders the outward sign of his sudden downturn in mood.

 

“Alec, it wasn’t your fault,” Max said quietly.

 

“Yes it was,” he corrected. He turned back to face her, a bitter twist to his lips. “I planted the bomb. I killed her.”

 

“But YOU didn’t detonate that bomb,” she argued. “Manticore did.”

 

Alec shrugged fatalistically. “So it wasn’t my finger on the trigger. So what? I planted the bomb. I killed her.”

 

“Alec...” Max breathed in deeply as she struggled to find the words to reach him. He desperately needed to talk about Rachel, needed someone to listen... and she could be that person, no matter how much it might hurt. Reaching out to him, she laid a tentative hand on his wrist, her small fingers curling around his forearm.

 

“Talk to me,” she said softly. “Tell me about Rachel.”

 

“No, Max.” Alec shied away from her touch like a spooked colt. “I am NOT going to talk about it. Not with you. Dead is dead.”

 

“Alec--”

 

“MAX.”

 

The warning was clear in his tone, and this time Max chose to heed it. She could see the walls going up behind his eyes, brick by brick, and she wondered in despair whether she would ever have one-tenth the hold on him that Rachel did.

 

Alec dropped his gaze to the desk. He breathed deeply then said in a gentle voice, “We’re good, ok? Just leave it alone.”

 

Max nodded slowly, her eyes searching his face. “Kay.” Her gaze flittered around the small room and lit on the supply list on his desk, and she gratefully seized on that as a new topic of conversation. “So... you all set for the meet?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“You sure you can trust this guy?”

 

Alec shrugged indifferently. “He’s one of my best contacts. Hasn’t tried to screw me over yet.”

 

“Doesn’t mean he won’t.”

 

“Doesn’t mean he will,” Alec countered.

 

Max shoved her hands in her jean pockets and scowled at Alec. “I still say I should come with,” she muttered testily.

 

“Yeah, well, that’s why it sucks to be you. Generals lead from the rear, Max. And they always delegate the really cool shit.” Alec flashed her an open-mouthed grin. “Besides, it’s just a supply run, Max. I can handle it. Easy as pie.”

 

And that was exactly why her stomach was turning itself into a Gordian knot. Every time Alec said that, something went sideways. Trouble had a way of finding him and she wouldn’t be there to watch his six. A shiver ran up and down her spine.

 

“You need back-up,” she argued.

 

“I’ve got a team.”

 

“X6s,” she scoffed.

 

Alec raised one eyebrow. That was catty, even for her. “Maxie, need I remind you that arms dealers are suspicious people by nature? My contact knows I’m bringing two mules. I add you and he’ll think I don’t trust him. I don’t, but that’s hardly the point.”

 

“Fine. So I go instead and one of the kids gets the night off. Everybody’s happy.”

 

“Except me and the kid.” Alec shook his head. “The 6s need the field experience. You don’t. And if something goes sideways, you’re too important to risk.”

 

“No I’m not!” Max protested loudly. “We’re all immune, so it’s not like you need me to manufacture a cure or anything.”

 

“And what if Sandeman’s got more to say to us, huh Maxie? What if there’s some last minute doodles of wisdom tucked away in that perfect DNA of yours, something that just might give us the edge in this war? It’s kinda hard to read ‘em if you’re dead.”

 

“I’m not going to get myself killed!”

 

“No one ever plans to get hit by a bullet, Max, but they still do.”

 

“Exactly my point Alec!” Max threw up her hands in frustration. ‘ _Can he not hear himself? Hello... bullet magnet!_ ’ The thought of Alec wounded made her physically ill, and she had to swallow hard to keep down the meagre breakfast he’d cajoled her into eating earlier.

 

Alec clenched his jaw against a rising tide of irritation. First she publicly disagreed with him over tactics, and now this. Was she going to fight him on every decision he made?

 

It ended now.

 

“No, Max.” His voice rang with quiet finality. “We’ve been over this. It’s MY contact, MY call. And I’m NOT taking you. End of discussion.”

 

Then he smiled his slow, sexy smile and murmured, “And before you ask... no, sex is not an appropriate bargaining tool. But hey, don’t let that stop you from trying.” He dropped into his desk chair and threw his arms wide, and the movement pulled the hem of his black t-shirt up and exposed an inch of toned abdomen above the waistband of his jeans. His skin gleamed golden in the sunlight.

 

Max ignored the instant flash of heat in her belly, too angry and indignant to let it distract her. “So you’re just gonna do things your way and to hell with whatever anyone else thinks?” she demanded, incredulous at his adamant refusal.

 

Alec rolled his eyes. “Hello, Pot? This is Kettle. You’re black.”

 

Max glared at Alec through narrowed eyes, hands clenched into tight little fists at her side. Her entire body radiated thwarted fury. ‘ _How dare he tell me what to do!_ ’ she fumed. _‘Who the hell does he think he is...Lydecker?_ ’

 

“I’m still in charge around here, Alec,” she hissed, her tone icy.

 

Alec stared at Max in disbelief. His green eyes darkened, the pupils wide and black. “So you’re gonna revoke my authority because I won’t let you have your way?”

 

Hurt seared through him. Max still didn’t trust him to get the job done, despite all her fine words to the contrary earlier that morning. He’d taken up her cause as his own, fought at her side and watched her back, risked life and limb for her, offered her everything he was... What more did he have to do to prove himself?

 

He raked his hands through his hair, welcoming the sharp pain caused by the tug on his scalp. Propelling himself out of his chair, he turned his back on her and sucked in a deep breath to ease the ragged hitch in his chest, and held it as he counted slowly to ten.

 

Alec turned back to face her and saw the shuttered expression on her face and the tight set of her mouth. Hurt and frustrated, his voice came out much sharper than he intended. “You made a decision. Have the guts to stand by it.”

 

Max bristled at the challenge in his voice, but he cut off her protests before she could do more than open her mouth.

 

“Trust yourself,” he growled. “Trust ME.”

 

The palpable hurt behind his words robbed Max of the last of her dissent. Because the truth was, she did trust him – with her body; with her life; with the mission. She just didn’t trust him not to get himself killed. But challenging his decision like this was tantamount to declaring him unfit for tactical command, and he deserved better than that from her. He deserved her allegiance, and her faith.

 

Max pressed her lips together to hide their trembling then said, “Don’t come back dead. We need you.” And she spun on her heel, her dark hair fanning out behind her, and fled the office.

 


	15. Chapter 15

Max glared at the clock hanging above the door of the main conference room at Manticore, the scowl on her pretty face clearly holding the innocent timepiece personally responsible for her foul mood.

 

37 minutes.

 

37 minutes and counting since Alec was due back at base. 187 minutes since he last reported in. 187 minutes without confirmation of his status.

 

Radio silence sucked.

 

It was supposed to be a simple meet with an established contact; something Alec had done countless times, first for Manticore, then for himself as part of his help-Alec-get-rich-quick schemes, and more recently on behalf of the transgenic cause.

 

Just another meet. Simple. Low risk.

 

Only Alec wasn’t back yet.

 

Wrenching her eyes from the clock, Max flung herself out of her seat and began to pace the length of the conference room, too on edge to sit still and too anxious to hide it any longer.

 

‘ _I swear to God, Alec,_ ’ she fumed, ‘ _if you’re in a bar somewhere right now teaching those X6s how to play Lick Slam Suck I’m gonna kick your ass so hard you won’t be sitting for a week._ ’

 

Grimly she focused on the anger; let it drown out the fear that curled in her belly. She refused to consider the more logical reasons why Alec might be delayed, the ones involving an angry mob or a psychotic government agent hell-bent on torturing her mate.

 

Her eyes roamed around the room and landed on Dix. The pale, bat-like nomaly was hunched over his computers, as silent and inconspicuous as he could make himself and still be in the room to monitor the communications equipment. Everyone else had found somewhere else to be tonight, not willing to endure her or her vile temper.

 

‘ _Poor Dix,_ ’ she thought pityingly. He was never the one who had to bully her into a better mood. That was always Alec’s job.

 

Only Alec was late, maybe wounded, possibly even worse.

 

For the umpteenth time that night, the fear that she might never again trade jibes and quips – or anything else – with Alec threatened to swamp her. Desperate for a distraction to take her mind off her fears and the over-loud ticking of the clock, Max blurted out the first question that sprang to mind. “Dix, what was Alec’s rank?”

 

Her voice shattered the unnatural silence that dominated the room, making Dix flinch. “Alec knows what he’s doing, Max,” he hastened to reassure her. “He’ll be alright, he always is.” His voice was confident, but his eyes skittered from hers to the clock above the door.

 

Max let out a deep breath. The fact that Dix was just as concerned about Alec as she was should have made her worry even more, but oddly enough she found it comforting. Dix wasn’t afraid because he thought Alec couldn’t handle himself; his was just the natural concern for a fellow soldier on manoeuvres in hostile territory. It made her own fears seem less foolish.

 

“Yeah, so I’ve heard. But that’s not why I’m asking.” Max shrugged. “I’m just curious, y’know. Sometimes I think he’s keeping bits of himself from me.”

 

“He was an assassin, Max. It was his Job. And you’re not exactly on board with the whole killing thing.” Dix’s voice was unbearably gentle. The unspoken accusation scraped on Max’s already raw nerves.

 

_You don’t understand Alec. Worse yet, you never tried to. You don’t appreciate him. You don’t deserve him._

 

“That’s who he WAS, not who he IS,” Max argued, mostly just to drown out the voice in her head.

 

“It’s a pretty big part of him, Max,” Dix countered. “It was all he knew for 20 years.” ‘Until you burned down his only home’ remained unspoken, but it hung in the air between them.

 

Max stared hard at Dix then shook her head, making her long hair swing; she’d think about that later. She reverted to her earlier question. “So what’s Alec’s rank?”

 

Dix opened his mouth and abruptly shut it again, mindful of his promise to Alec not to reveal unnecessary information about the X5’s past.

 

“Solo Ops was Manticore’s star division,” said a low voice from the doorway, “the one they bragged about to the D.O.D. and the N.S.C.”

 

Max spun around to face the voice. An X5 was slouched against the doorframe, bare arms crossed over a broad, muscular chest. He was simply dressed in tattered blue jeans and a faded navy t-shirt, the material worn from being put through the wash too many times. His honey brown hair was long and scruffy, and his eyes were a pale, translucent blue, like twin shards of ice. He watched her with a hard, unfriendly stare.

 

Max struggled but couldn’t put a name to the face.

 

“Uh, Mick,” Dix interrupted, “you here with a report from the Motor Pool?”

 

The X5 smiled arrogantly, amused by the nomaly’s attempt to run interference, but he just shrugged and said, “Transports are all set for tomorrow. We’re mobile.”

 

“Good. Great. Thanks Mick,” Dix said with forced cheeriness. “You probably have things to do, and we don’t want to keep you from... uh doing that, so uh, why don’t you, um--”

 

“Not so fast, Dix,” Max barked. Her arms were crossed defiantly and the look in her eyes as she stared at Mick hovered between insulted and pissed off. “Mick here looks like a man with something on his mind. So let’s hear it.”

 

The amusement faded from Mick face, replaced by a cold sneer. “You wanna know what kind of soldier 494 was?”

 

“I asked, didn’t I?” Max said evenly.

 

“Solo Ops outranked the rest of us and 494 was one of the best. He had a perfect kill record, except for the Berrisford assignment.” Mick shrugged away Alec’s tragic loss as if it were inconsequential. “494 was proud of it. He had every right to be. On a mission, 494 was everything Manticore wanted him to be. The perfect assassin. That’s why they let him get away with all the shit he pulled on base. And it’s why Renfro assigned him to the breeding program.” He leered suggestively at Max. “Not all of us were that lucky.”

 

“Lucky?!” Max sputtered, horrified. “You call being forced to have sex so that Manticore could steal your child and turn it into just another mindless, cold-blooded killer LUCKY? It’s disgusting and perverted!”

 

Mick’s already closed expression hardened further at the insult. “Contributing DNA to the next generation of X soldiers was an HONOUR,” he spat out. “Big praise, coming from Manticore. They only used the best.” Those pale eyes raked over Max’s body from head to toe, his lips curled into a dismissive sneer. “Renfro only let you into the program to mess with your mind. She knew you’d hate it because you’d been contaminated by the outside world.”

 

“I’d rather be ‘contaminated’ than not,” Max retorted waspishly. “Listen to yourself. You were a slave to Manticore and you didn’t even know it.”

 

“And you think I’m free now?” he scoffed. “Open your eyes, 452. We’ll never be free as long as we have to hide who and what we are. We’ll be playing Escape and Evade with the entire world for the rest of our lives. At least inside Manticore we didn’t have to pretend.”

 

“Maybe you’re better off. And them too,” he jerked his chin at where Dix sat huddled in the corner, “but I never asked for this.”

 

“Max!” Dix’s relieved cry interrupted any reply Max might have made. “Alec’s back. Finally. The van just pulled through the main gate.”

 

Max closed her eyes in relief only to snap them open again at Dix’s next words.

 

“He’s requested a medic.”

 

Max pushed past the arrogant X5 blocking the door and raced down the corridor and out into the starry night. A mixed crowd of X6s and transhumans had already assembled at the gate, waiting to unload the van. Joshua bounded into the quad like an overgrown puppy, long-limbed and uncoordinated, but his face was lit up with an eager smile. Mole sauntered along behind his friend, furiously puffing on his cigar, hiding his own relief at Alec’s safe return behind a blue-tinged cloud of smoke.

 

‘ _He’s ok._ ’ Max breathed out a quick sigh of relief when Alec hopped from the cab and flashed his friends a smile. The fear that had tied her stomach in knots for hours vanished abruptly, leaving her momentarily dizzy, and she hung back in the shadows of the building to regain her equilibrium. ‘ _Alec, you are sooo gonna regret being late._ ’

 

Alec walked around to the back of the van, and when he stepped into a patch of moonlight Max hissed involuntarily, her eyes widening as her night-vision zoomed in on a dark, sticky patch that stained the right side of his jean jacket, and the frayed hole in the left sleeve that matched the one in his favourite charcoal leather jacket. Neither the stain nor the hole was there when he left the compound earlier.

 

‘ _He’s been shot!_ ’ she thought incredulously, then gave herself a mental head slap. ‘ _Why am I even surprised? This is Alec after all. Mr. Bullet Magnet himself._ ’

 

“You forget how to tell time, Pretty Boy?” Mole inquired gruffly. “You’re late.”

 

“Bastards tried to double-cross us.” Alec shook his head in mock disappointment as he flung open the back doors of the van. “So hard to find an honest crook these days.”

 

Alec ignored the crates and boxes that filled the back of the van and instead reached for a wounded X6, his arms cradling the teen’s upper body while a second X6 awkwardly supported his squad mate’s legs. Together they gently laid the teen onto the waiting stretcher that had materialized like magic out of the crowd. The front of the wounded X6’s t-shirt was heavily soaked in blood, although the bleeding seemed to have stopped.

 

“Two gut shots, both through and through,” Alec informed the medic in a quiet voice as the older, dark-haired man quickly and competently assessed his patient. “We stopped the bleeding and transfused him, but he lost consciousness about an hour ago.”

 

The medic nodded absently. Looking up from his patient, he reached across the gurney to flick open Alec’s jacket. He stared pointedly at the younger transgenic, a silent question written on his face.

 

Alec shrugged. “Just a scratch. I’ll be by later. When I’m done here.”

 

The medic sighed heavily but nodded. He knew 494 well enough – by reputation at least – to know the cocky X5 would refuse medical attention until his mission was complete, and he grudgingly respected him for it.

 

“That wound needs to be dressed,” he said with another pointed look at Alec’s side. “Don’t make come find you because I’ll drag you outta your warm bed if I have to, even if you’re... otherwise engaged.”

 

Alec grinned and nodded. With another heavy sigh, the medic turned away from Alec and left with the X6.

 

Max’s eyes went wide. ‘ _What the fuck...?_ ’ The anger she’d been nursing all evening returned full-force, and for a second Max couldn’t decide who to ream out first – Alec or the medic.

 

Alec’s eyes found hers in the shadows and he held her gaze for a just a second before he turned away, back to the van and its precious cargo. Reaching into the back of the truck, Alec grabbed the nearest box and hefted it in his arms. “Look ma...Kevlar for everyone.”

 

Max stiffened. She would NOT be dismissed by him, not when he was overdue and one of the 6s consigned to his care was gravely wounded. Not when he got himself shot after insisting he could handle himself without her there to guard his back. Furious, she stormed across the quad. The crowd automatically parted before her. “Alec!”

 

“Max,” Alec said evenly, his head dipping slightly in greeting.

 

“You’re late,” Max barked. “What happened? Why didn’t you radio in your ETA?”

 

Alec flashed her an unrepentant grin. “Because ‘radio silence’ is supposed to be silent, Max. Otherwise it’d just be radio.”

 

“Don’t push me Alec,” Max warned, “I’m not in the mood.” The muscles in Alec’s jaw ticked, a warning Max chose not to heed. “What the hell happened? What’d you screw up this time?”

 

“You’ll get a full report later, Max, when I’m done here.”

 

“What, still need more time to come up with a decent cover story?” she mocked. “You’re getting sloppy.”

 

“Oh? You mean there’s a step below screw-up? Please, enlighten me.”

 

Max deliberately dropped her gaze to his blood-soaked jacket. “Oh, I don’t know... how about ‘target dummy’?”

 

Alec shrugged. “What can I say, women like it when I’m wounded. Makes ‘em wanna take me home and play nursemaid.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the women in the crowd, the tip of his tongue caught between his teeth.

 

Anger ripped through her. How could he be so damn cavalier about it? Someone had a gun trained on him tonight; he could so easily be dead right now. Before she could think, she threw a punch straight at his head.

 

Moving faster than she thought possible for him, Alec caught her fist in his palm and held it in an iron grip. Max struggled but couldn’t free her hand. She was vaguely aware that the crowd at her back was busy unloading the van, but her world had narrowed to just her and Alec. She glared at him, her brown eyes snapping with fury.

 

Alec stared her down, a cold look in his green eyes, and when he spoke his voice was low and throbbing with repressed emotion. “I don’t like it when you hit me, Max. I don’t like it when you treat me like that. I’ve been patient, but I’m damn tired of this shit. It has to change.”

 

Dropping her hand abruptly as if it burned him, Alec shifted his grip on the box of Kevlar vests still tucked under his arm, bringing it in around in front of him to form a tangible barrier between him and Max, keeping her at arms length. But for just one second his masked slipped, and she saw anger and hurt and longing flitter through his eyes.

 

“You’ll get your report in the morning.”

 

Max nodded silently, not knowing what to say even if she could trust her voice enough to speak, and let him pass.

 

 

~*~

 

 

“So you finally decided to check on him. How thoughtful of you.”

 

The medic’s voice dripped with polite sarcasm. Max made no reply, just concentrated on closing the infirmary door softly and trying not to squirm at the disappointment in that voice.

 

Galen was X4 and Max’s senior by at least 5 years. His hair was a black so dark it seemed to absorb the light, and his eyes were the grey of the ocean during a winter storm. He was short and stocky, shorter than Max by a good three inches, but his hands were long and tapered and gentle.

 

Right now those gentle hands were crossed over his chest, and his normally smiling mouth was set in a thin, disapproving line beneath lowered eyebrows and hard eyes. The classic censorious stare of a disappointed authority figure.

 

She should have been here hours ago.

 

Max dropped her gaze to her combat boots, memorizing the patterns made by the scuffs. ‘ _Gotta_ _polish those one of these days._ ’ She shrugged. “Yeah well, I’m here now, aren’t I? So... uh, how badly was he hit?”

 

Galen let the silence stretch for several seconds before he answered. “Two flesh wounds. One bullet grazed his left deltoid; the second grazed his abdomen just below the ribs. Both were clean shots, cauterized in the field. Thankfully, 494 knows how to take a bullet.”

 

The absurdity of that statement made Max roll her eyes. “Oh please,” she scoffed. “If Alec knew how to take a bullet, wouldn’t he just not get hit in the first place?”

 

Galen glanced heavenward with a look that clearly begged for the granting of patience and shook his head in disgust. “Alec took two, NON-FATAL wounds, Max. Wounds he only got because he was shielding a squad mate from a head shot and a heart shot. That boy would be dead now, if 494 didn’t know damn well what he was doing.”

 

Max squirmed uncomfortably. She really had to learn to think before she spoke.

 

“Alec didn’t tell you what happened,” Galen guessed shrewdly.

 

Max avoided Galen’s eyes, not wanting to admit that Alec practically refused to give her a mission report until it was convenient for him. She shrugged indifferently. “Meet went sideways.”

 

“Yeah, it did... Maybe Alec’s supplier had a heat scanner and figured out what his client really is, and couldn’t stomach arming the freaks. Maybe he just got greedy. I don’t know.” Galen shrugged. “But I do know the double-crossing swine decided to keep the money AND the merchandise. His muscle opened fire, nailed that poor kid twice before he could react. Alec shielded him, got him to cover, and took out the shooters. And then he got his men safely back to base. Just like he was trained to do.”

 

Galen pointed to one of the closed doors that lined the wall behind him. “Make no mistake, Max, that kid in there is alive tonight because of Alec. He has his own reasons for not forcing you to see how competent he really is. But do yourself a favour, do us ALL a favour... and don’t fall for the act.”

 

Turning abruptly away from her, Galen routed around in the medicine cabinet for several seconds before emerging with a small white bottle. With a deft flick of his wrist he tossed it to Max.

 

“Here. Morphine. His body needs time to heal. The wounds aren’t that serious, but muscle damage hurts and the morphine will make him comfortable enough to sleep. I’m keeping him here overnight to make sure he stays still long enough to get some rest. Alec takes too much on himself sometimes.”

 

Max studied the pill bottle in her hand, a slight frown marring her features. “If he needs to sleep, why not just give him a sedative?”

 

“He won’t take it willingly. Most of the X series won’t. Too many times they’d wake up somewhere else and in worse shape than when they started. Manticore’s little... experiments, you know?”

 

“Yeah,” Max said softly, “I know.” She reflexively curled her fingers tighter around the pill bottle. Morphine had never been on offer during her own days as a genetically engineered lab rat. “I’ll make sure he takes these.”

 

“Good. That’s rule one. Two tablets every four hours. Rule two, under NO circumstances will you hit, kick, or yell at Alec while he is under my care.” Max bristled but Galen held up a warning finger. “You want to ‘debrief’ him about tonight’s mission, you wait until tomorrow. He needs his rest, and I will not tolerate a grudge match in my infirmary. Alec is not the only patient here. We clear?”

 

“Yeah, we’re clear.”

 

“Good.” Galen nodded sharply. “And get some rest. You’re no good to us as a leader if you’re dead on your feet.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Alec lay on his back on the narrow cot, staring at the black smoke stains on the ceiling. He was shirtless, and the clean linen strips that bound his arm and his ribs were stark white against his golden skin.

 

“Oh goodie,” Alec drawled sarcastically, addressing the ceiling rather than Max, “my best supplier tried to double-cross me and blew my cover, I nearly lost one of my men, I got shot – in the ARM no less... but my night just wouldn’t be complete without you to tell me what a screw up I am.”

 

The bitterness in his voice made her flinch. She never, ever thought he took her seriously all those times she freaked and blamed him for messing up her perfect little life. He just took whatever she threw at him with a laugh and a cocky grin and came back for more the next day. How was she supposed to know he actually listened to her?

 

‘ _And the hurt in his eyes whenever you called him a screw up didn’t give it away?_ ’ whispered the little voice in her head that was always so annoyingly perceptive. ‘ _Liar._ ’

 

“Don’t be like that,” Max said defensively. “I didn’t come here to pick a fight with you.”

 

“No, you just came here to yell at me,” Alec said wearily, his eyes sliding shut. “Can we not do this tonight? It’s late, I’m tired, and I need my beauty rest.”

 

“No.”

 

“No?!” Alec’s jaw dropped. Was it too much to ask for just one night’s peace from her incessant bitching at him? He surged upright, determined to end the conversation immediately even if he had to throw her out to do it, but the sudden movement pulled at his wounded side and he let out an involuntary hiss of pain.

 

Max itched to slip an arm around his back to support him but forced herself to stand still. Alec would not appreciate being made to feel weak. But that didn’t stop her from scolding him. “For fuck’s sake Alec, you’re wounded. Lie down.”

 

“I’ll sit up if I want to,” he said petulantly. But his skin was paler than normal and there was a faint sheen of sweat on his brow.

 

Max let out a small growl of frustration. “You’re impossible, you know that?” Alec was as stubborn as she when he wanted to be, but lack of proper rest now meant that Alec would be at less than peak condition for the coming battle, and that didn’t even bear thinking about. “Alec, lay down or I’ll tie you down,” she ordered firmly.

 

Max stared him down threateningly, hands firmly planted on her hips, chest heaving and brown eyes snapping, and Alec felt himself grow hard at the sight. He licked his lips. ‘ _God she’s beautiful when she’s pissed at me._ ’ He shook the errant thought away, cursing his body’s traitorous response.

 

Alec held her gaze for a beat then slowly lowered himself back to a supine position. Max sighed at his stubbornness but refrained from commenting, reminding herself about Galen’s rules. She really didn’t want the burly medic tossing her out on her ass for arguing with Alec, even if he did deserve a good tongue-lashing.

 

‘ _Mmm_ _... Tongue lashing. That could be fun._ ’ The thin sheet was bunched around Alec’s lean hipbones, exposing the taut and chiselled muscles of his bare chest and abdomen. His wounded arm lay across stomach, and his fingers were idly toying with the edge of the pressure bandage below his ribs. Lying there half-naked, he was such a powerful blend of strength and vulnerability it made her breath catch.

 

Digging her nails into her palms to distract herself from naughty-naked-Alec thoughts, Max was suddenly reminded of the pill bottle still clutched in her hand. Quickly she twisted the lid off and shook out two white tablets.

 

Alec stared suspiciously at the pills that lay on her palm. “What’re those?”

 

“Just morphine,” Max said reassuringly and held out the bottle so he could read the label. “To make you comfortable so you can sleep. Galen said you have to take them tonight if you want to be combat ready tomorrow.”

 

“I don’t need to be medicated,” Alec grumbled, but he propped himself up on one arm and gestured for her to approach the bed.

 

Max moved to drop the pills onto his outstretched hand but Alec unexpectedly caught hold of her arm, his fingers curling around her wrist, and brought her hand up to his face instead. Gently he mouthed the pills from her hand, his soft lips brushing over her skin in an intimate caress. And that instinctive, tender contact told Max that everything wrong between them would work itself out.

 

Alec dry swallowed the pills and then laid his head back on the pillow, his eyes sliding shut wearily. Looking down at him, stretched out on a hospital bed, Max didn’t feel at all vindicated; she just felt tired and drained and not at all sure of what to do next. She placed the pill bottle on the small table by the head of the bed, turning it this way and that while she searched for the right words.

 

“I yell at you because I give a damn, Alec,” she said softly. “If I didn’t, I’d just let you go off and do whatever the hell you wanted, even if it got you killed.”

 

“Huh.” The seconds ticked by while Alec’s numbed brain processed her admission. “So I’m on the list then.”

 

“What list?”

 

“The list of people you’d rush into a burning building to save.”

 

“Oh Alec...” Max swallowed her pride. “...you’ve always been on the list.”

 

Surprised, Alec opened his eyes and peered up at Max. Her face was averted and half hidden behind the fall of her hair. She was staring intently at the pile of his clothes on the chair next to the bed, her hands occupied with smoothing the folds of his t-shirt. Her movements were sharp and jerky, and there was an edge of fear about her that went beyond the disquietude they all felt inside these walls. An infirmary was not a place of comfort to them, or at least not this one; too many of their kind went in and never came out again.

 

Sighing, Alec pushed aside his anger and surrendered to the need to comfort this girl, who took so much onto her thin shoulders. “You’re afraid, Max. Why?”

 

“Afraid? I’m not afraid.” And she laughed, or tried to, but it came out as a tight, nervous giggle that just emphasized how on edge she really was.

 

“Yes, you are.”

 

Max bit her lip and shook her head, feeling much too vulnerable to meet his eyes.

 

“Max, tell me what you’re afraid of,” Alec coaxed. “Let me help.”

 

“You,” she whispered in a voice so low Alec had to strain to hear it. “I’m afraid of losing you.”

 

Baffled, Alec scrunched his forehead and stared at her. How could she think he would walk away from her? He’d never once managed to get as far as packing his meagre belongings, no matter how many times she had screamed for him to leave town. “You’re not going to lose me, Max.”

 

“Everyone leaves me, Alec. Everyone.” Max dragged her hands through her hair and paced the length of the bed, struggling for the words to express the fears buzzing in her brain. “I was on my own for 10 years. And it sucked big time, but that’s just the way it was and I was... okay with that. I knew the rules. But now... now you’re here. You’re always here. But people don’t stay in my life. They leave me or they die or I... I get them killed. And you take all these stupid chances and you risk your life for nothing, and it scares me. I hate it. I hate wondering if you’re still going to be there tomorrow.”

 

Alec snagged her hand and yanked her towards the bed. Her hip hit the edge of the mattress, unbalancing her, and she sprawled awkwardly half on his torso, half on the bed. He cupped his hand under he chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. “Max, how many times have you ordered me to go away?” Max shrugged. “And how many times have I listened to you?”

 

“‘No one ever plans to get hit by a bullet,’” Max said softly, quoting his own words from last night, “but it can still kill you.”

 

“Is that what this is about? Because I got myself shot at tonight?” Warmth flooded his chest at the realization that Max’s bluster was just a cover, that she was deathly afraid for him. No one had ever cared if he got himself killed on a mission before. Alec tightened his hold around her small frame. He forced a casual tone and said, “Ok, yeah, I got myself shot at tonight. But Max, it’s really not at bad as it looks. I know how to take a bullet. I’m not gonna get myself killed.”

 

“Not by some back alley gangstas, no. But White... White hates you almost as much as me. He wants you dead.”

 

“How many times has he tried to kill me?” Alec smirked. “He’s not very good at it.”

 

Max levered herself upright and yelled, “You were five seconds away from having your head blown off!”

 

“Yeah, but I’m still here. Because of you.” Tenderly, Alec tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know what White’s capable of. He’s cunning and ruthless... but so am I, when I need to be. Trust in me, Max.”

 

“I do, Alec, I swear I do.” His heart swelled. Max turned away to hide the tears that threatened to spill and spoke to the wall. “I’m tired of losing my family.” Max bit her lip, focusing on the pain to force back the tears. Bad enough she was begging for a promise he couldn’t give her; she refused to demean herself any further by crying like a helpless little girl.

 

“I can’t promise you none of us will get hurt,” Alec said solemnly. “Our lives are just too dangerous. But I promise you I will do everything I can to keep your family safe.”

 

Max clutched Alec’s shoulders tightly. “You’re part of my family, Alec,” she said fiercely. “I don’t need a dead hero. I need you.”

 

A tidal wave of emotion threatened to drown him. Max needed him; more importantly, she admitted she needed him. It was enough to make a guy light-headed.

 

Tension hung in the air so thick he could almost taste it. Soon it would drown them both. Striving to keep his tone light, he said, “I’m not gonna throw myself on the proverbial hand grenade, Max.” He smiled. It was sex with a tinge of evil, and it made her knees go weak. “‘Sides, it’s not like I need to impress you with the hero routine. I already got you in my bed.”

 

“Pig.” Max said and hit him on the chest, but it was more a caress than a slap. “Is that all you ever think about?”

 

“Like you don’t. You’ve seen me naked.”

 

Max met his smirk with one of her own and didn’t disagree. Alec groaned and captured her lips in a searing kiss that was both gentle and fierce. Max parted her lips, drawing his tongue into her mouth with a moan. He thrust his hands into her heavy hair and cupped her head, his fingers massaging her skull as he tilted her head and pulled her even deeper into the kiss.

 

Panting for air, Max managed to pull back and avert her head. “We can’t,” she gasped. “Alec, you got shot.”

 

“In the arm,” he murmured huskily and pressed butterfly kisses along the sweep of her jaw and down her throat.

 

“Mmmm,” Max sighed and then snapped her mind back. “But your side...”

 

“There are ways.” Alec’s warm breath washed over her skin, making it tingle.

 

“You need to heal,” she protested against his mouth, even as her tongue darted out to trace his full lower lip.

 

“I need you,” he answered. His eyes were dark with desire, only a thin ring of emerald showing around the black pupils. “I can take a little damage. And I don’t mind a little pain. Manticore taught me that.”

 

Max moaned helplessly, her will seduced by the raw, wanton need in those green eyes, and suddenly his lips were on hers, his tongue deep in her mouth, questing for her back teeth. Max gasped and wrapped her tongue around his, surrendering.

 

Alec slid his hands down her body to rest at her waist beneath the hem of her shirt, his fingers splayed across the small of her back. Bunching the thin fabric in his hands, he slowly moved his hands back up her body, pulling the top up and over her head. He continued to kiss her, slow drugging kisses that left her panting. She could feel her arousal pooling between her legs, soaking her panties.

 

With a soft sigh, Max slipped out of his embrace and stood. She shimmied out of the rest of her clothing, dropping them in an untidy pile on top of his on the chair at the side of the bed. Alec grinned appreciatively, enjoying the show as she bared her body for him.

 

Flinging aside the thin sheet that covered him from the waist down, Alec crooked his finger at her in a ‘come hither’ gesture. Max sashayed back to the bed with a lascivious wriggle in her step that made Alec lick his lips in anticipation. Leaning ending over him, she hooked her fingers into the waistband of his boxers and pulled them off. Her silken hair trailed over his body. Alec groaned as it brushed across his aching erection.

 

Wanting skin-on-skin contact on every inch of her body, Max climbed back on the narrow bed and stretched out full length on top of Alec. As she wiggled into position, the heel of her hand accidentally pressed into his sore ribs. Alec winced as pain flared up his wounded side. Quickly, she bent her head and bit his blunt nipple, using the sharper pain to distract him, then swirled the tip of her tongue over and around his nipple until it was hard.

 

“Oh yeah,” he murmured, “just like that, baby.”

 

Pleased by his reaction, she moved up his chest, planting sharp little nips across his pecs and over his collarbone and up the tendon in his neck to his earlobe, then blew cool air down the wet trail she’d left, making him shiver beneath her.

 

He grinned wickedly. “My turn.”

 

Catching her under the arms, he hauled her further up his body, bringing her breasts up to his mouth. He nipped the tender inside of her right breast, making her gasp. He kissed away the sting, laving the bite mark with the flat of his tongue in sweeping cat-like licks that gradually spiralled inwards towards her nipple. Max arched her back, pressing her breast against his face. Alec smiled at her impatience but obligingly latched onto her nipple. He suckled and nibbled, and every tug made her mewl helplessly as a jolt of electricity went straight from her nipple to her clitoris.

 

Laughing breathlessly, she pulled out of his arms and slid backwards down his body. Reaching behind her, she held his cock by the base and stroked her clit with the weeping tip, caressing her pulsing nubbin with the lightest touch. Alec hissed and twisted beneath her, trying to bury himself in her hot depths. Max laughed and held her body out of his reach, just close enough for his velvety head to brush against the folds of her pussy and across her clit, for her juices to seep out to soak him.

 

Finally, when he was just about ready to beg, she tired of waiting and lowered herself slowly onto his quivering cock. She felt every centimetre of his turgid shaft enter her, stretching her body to accommodate him. He gasped as flesh like warm velvet sucked him in, encasing him in sensual, moist heat.

 

She teased him by rising up and almost withdrawing completely, only to sink back down until she was fully impaled and seated. Slowly, slowly she rode him, rocking forward on eachdownstroke of her hips. She rode him like a pagan goddess, with her legs clamped around his flanks and her breasts bouncing lightly with every downward plunge. She arched her back and tilted her head, exposing the curve of her delicate neck, and her long heavy hair cascaded down her back to brush his thighs.

 

Alec thought she never looked so beautiful.

 

His hands came up to fondle her breasts. He cupped them in his hands, weighing them like precious fruit to be savoured, palms swirling across the puckered areolas. His fingers skilfully stroked the soft skin in random patterns, caressing the ticklish undersides and skimming across the dusky nipples. He toyed with those pert berries, rolling the sensitive flesh between his fingers, and then he pinched them both, hard. Max gasped as shockwaves rolled through her body. Alec drank in the helpless, blissful look on her face.

 

And then his hands were on her hips, gripping hard enough to bruise. He twisted as he thrust upwards into her, grinding his pelvic bone hard against her clit, making her moan and gasp his name in pleasure. She raked his chest just above his nipples, her nails raising bloody welts on his golden skin. He arched his back into the pain, driving his cock even deeper into her. “That’s it, baby,” he gasped, “hurt me. Hurt me good.”

 

Pain flared in his side with every thrust, but it was irrelevant next to the feeling of being buried inside her, and the sharp edge of pain just made the pleasure all the sweeter. Max ground her body down on his, forcing his cock even deeper until the head of it was pressed hard against her cervix and she couldn’t tell where she left off and he began. With a growl Alec pumped harder and faster, chasing the sweet friction as her warm wet flesh gripped and slid around him.

 

Max keened, a low animal sound from the back of her throat that rose in intensity with every thrust. Alec bared his teeth in a feral grin, thrilled by the sight of his mate lost to passion. “Mine,” he growled and corkscrewed his hips, “mine.”

 

“Yours,” she gasped as she writhed above him, “yours, all yours, oh god, Alec...”

 

Long, clever fingers snaked into her springy curls, searching for the sensitive nubbin. He pinched it hard. Max screamed at the sudden pleasure-pain. He pinched her clit again as he pistonedinto her, his hips hitting that sweet spot deep inside, sending her headlong over the precipice. White fire burned behind her eyes and between her legs, and her entire body shuddered with the force of her climax. She rode him hard through the pounding waves of her orgasm, her inner muscles clenching and fluttering around his straining cock, and his name tumbled from her lips in a prayer and an invocation.

 

Boneless, she collapsed onto his chest and sank her sharp hard teeth onto his good shoulder, breaking through the tender skin, and at the same time she ground her hips against his and flexed her inner muscles around his cock. The combined pleasure-pain crashed through him, sent him hurtling breakneck speed into orgasm. He drove into her once, then twice, deep grinding strokes that would have broken a mere human. Stars exploded behind his eyes, and he roared her name as he came, his seed flooding her.

 

They lay in a tangle of limbs while their heartbeats slowed to normal and their sweaty skin cooled. Eventually, Alec slipped his softened cock out of her, wishing he could stay buried inside her hot core forever. Max sighed and slid down his body to curl at his side, her head tucked beneath his chin. He coiled his good arm protectively around her back, and his free hand came up to cover hers where it lay on his chest above his heart. She snuggled closer, her right leg nestled between his, her thigh gently nudging his cock.

 

“Sleep now,” she said, and her voice was softened to a murmur by the afterglow.

 

“Uh oh, did I wear you out?” he teased.

 

“Mmm hmmm. Now be a good boy and go to sleep.”

 

Alec chuckled, but his eyes were already closed, and sleep claimed them both.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Morning broke, and it was just another day. The sun rose in the east, birds chirped in the trees, and siblings everywhere argued over who had first dibs on the bathroom. No cosmic portents of doom, nothing to suggest this might be humanity’s last day of peace.

 

It was all rather anticlimactic, really.

 

Max opened her eyes and watched while Alec slept in her arms. Asleep, he was just a boy. Gently, her fingers barely more than a whisper, she traced his features; the curve of his eyebrows, the arch of his nose, the dip below his sculpted cheekbones, the strong line of his jaw. Imprinting him on her skin. Just in case.

 

Reluctantly she untangled herself from his arms and the sheets. Alec stirred and caught her wrist before she cleared the bed. He called her name in a fuzzy rumble, his eyes blinking blearily at her.

 

“Shh,” she said softly. “Go back to sleep.”

 

“You too,” he mumbled groggily and tugged ineffectively on her wrist.

 

“You need to sleep. You’re still not fully healed.”

 

“Want you here...wi’ me.”

 

“Tomorrow,” she promised and dropped a kiss on his forehead. His eyes fluttered shut, smiling in contentment as her mouth lingered on his skin.

 

“Tomorrow.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

“Coverage on the south wall is stretched damn thin,” Mole commented gruffly, as he leaned over Alec’s desk to scrutinize the map of Seattle’s dockside, his weight propped on scaly green fists.

 

“I know,” Alec growled in frustration from the other side of the desk, “but I don’t have anymore bodies to spare. We gotta keep 12 strike teams in reserve, just in case.” He lifted his eyes to meet Mole’s. “If even one dose of that shit gets through...”

 

“Yeah, I know,” Mole sighed, “Norms’ll be fucked.”

 

“Us too.”

 

“Yeah. Don’ remind me.”

 

The silence was broken by three sharp knocks on the door. Annoyed by the intrusion, Alec grunted a barely civil invitation to enter. The door swung open to reveal Max and her siblings.

 

Ignoring Mole’s presence in the room, Max locked gazes with Alec and announced firmly, without preamble, “When we go in there today, I want my siblings at my back.”

 

The transgenic army would be fighting in their old units today; side by side and back to back the way they had for years, and none of them would willingly let her fight with them – selfish, disloyal, half-trained Niner that she was. Her encounter with Mick yesterday taught her that. But she’d be damned if she let that keep her from this fight.

 

And she would NOT let Alec consign her to the rearguard. She was still his CO; she would pull rank if she had to, even if he hated it, but he was not leaving her behind out of some misguided sense of chivalry. No matter how much a deeply buried part of her appreciated his concern.

 

And other than Alec himself, the only people she really, truly trusted to guard her back were her siblings. So really, the solution was simple.

 

Alec stared at Max, admiring the look of pure determination on her face. Both feet were firmly planted on the floor. Her arms hung loosely at her sides, fingers curled inwards but not yet balled into fists. Her chin was high, chocolate eyes snapping with a fire he hadn’t seen in weeks. He smiled inwardly, proud as could be of his girl. Here was the bold firecracker he knew and loved. ‘ _Looks like someone got her spunk back. Guess Max finally woke up on the right side of the bed._ ’

 

Impatient, Max jiggled in place, a slight shimmer in her lower body, and one hand slid up to rest at the curve of her hip. Classic Max stance number 6. Dangerous and beautiful. Alec felt his groin tighten in response.

 

Mole grunted inarticulately and said flatly, addressing Alec, “No way in hell. This is war. We don’t have time to baby sit half-trained rookies.”

 

“Hello, standing right here,” Jondy huffed from her position behind Max.

 

Mole swung his head and fixed her with his fierce, yellow-eyed stare. “Ya want me to say it to your face? Fine, I got no problem with that. You. Are. A. Liability.” He punctuated each word with a stab of his cigar. “You lot got half the training we do. You really think we’re gonna let you play with the big guns?”

 

Identical outraged expressions graced the faces of all five siblings. Mole glowered right back, standing firm in his convictions.

 

“Hey! We took on Manticore and won, lizard boy,” Syl protested, pushing her way into the room to stand toe to toe with Mole. Krit moved to stand at her shoulder, backing her up as he always did. “We blew out the DNA lab right under your oh-so-superior noses. I’d say that proves our worth.”

 

Mole inhaled so sharply he nearly swallowed his cigar. He sputtered incoherently for several seconds. Alec suppressed a sigh. Syl just threw down a gauntlet, even though she didn’t realize it, and he knew what Mole’s reaction would be. He also knew he couldn’t stop Mole, and strangely, he found he didn’t want to.

 

“I wouldn’t brag about that mission around here if I were you,” Mole finally managed to mutter, smoke leaking from his mouth like ground fog. “You didn’t do us any favours that night.”

 

“Excuse me!? We took on Manticore for you. Zack died!”

 

Max flushed guiltily. Not for the first time, she found herself wishing she had the courage to tell her siblings about what really happened to their beloved elder brother that night, and the choice she forced on him afterwards.

 

Mole barked a laugh. “You didn’t do that for us. You did it to save your own ass. And you nearly got us all killed,” he added bitterly.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Syl narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

 

“What the fuck were you trying to accomplish with that little stunt?” Mole questioned. “Get Manticore’s funding pulled?”

 

“Deck said it would work. Without D.O.D. funding, Manticore would cease to exist. Problem solved.”

 

“Yeah. And what did’jya think was gonna happen to the rest of us still on the inside? Think they’d just open the gates and let us walk out into the sunshine to live normal lives as happy, productive members of society? Don’t be so fucking naïve. You were signing our death warrants. Scorched earth policy. Absolutely no exposure of the project under any circumstances. That was the deal.”

 

“Plausible deniability,” Max whispered almost inaudibly. Truthfully, they hadn’t once considered the potential fallout of their rash attack. They were desperate; exhausted by 10 years on the run, amped up on vengeance and pain after Brin’s capture and Tinga’s murder, and willing to do anything to stop Manticore’s ceaseless hunting.

 

“Yep,” Mole confirmed.

 

Syl shuddered. “We had no idea,” she said hoarsely, her eyes stricken.

 

“Oh come off it,” Mole scoffed. “You just didn’t think. Or care, because we weren’t part of your precious family.”

 

Slowly, Max raised her eyes to Alec’s. His face was a perfectly blank mask. He met her gaze steadily, the look in his eyes neither condemning nor comforting, simply confirming what she’d already heard from Renfro.

 

“Fortunately for us, Renfro was a cunning bitch,” Alec said, in a voice devoid of inflection. “She blackmailed half the Committee and arranged for a couple of ‘unlucky’ accidents. Manticore survived, funding intact.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Max whispered. Alec shrugged.

 

“Well, that makes everything okay then, doesn’t it?” Mole snarked.

 

“Mole,” Alec said quietly, the warning clear in his tone. He caught and held Mole’s eyes. “A one-legged soldier can’t march. Arguing amongst ourselves is exactly what that bastard White wants.” Mole endured Alec’s steely gaze for several seconds before ducking his head.

 

Alec turned to face Max. “You want your unit there? Fine. I can understand that. But Josh goes too.”

 

“What!?” Max screeched. “Alec, you can’t be serious. Joshua doesn’t know how to fight!”

 

Alec raised one eyebrow. Max had such a blind spot when it came to Joshua; it was amazing she could even see the big man past her own delusions about him. She so desperately wanted to believe he was an innocent, that one of them made it out uncorrupted by Manticore, but Joshua had experienced his share of the harshness that was Manticore’s approach to child rearing. Or, he had until they locked him in the basement and forgot about him.

 

“Uh, yeah Max, he does,” Alec replied. “Or did you somehow miss the sight of him wailing on the uber-Familiars at Jam Pony? What he lacks in formal training, he more than makes up for in strength. And he knows how to move undetected.”

 

“Alec, he can’t! He’s not ready for this,” Max said frantically. “He doesn’t know how to--”

 

“He’s not a child, Max. White killed Annie. He’s earned the right to help take that bastard down.”

 

“But--”

 

“No.” Alec moved around the desk to stand directly in front of her, subconsciously using his superior height to reinforce his authority. “I’m not arguing with you on this, Max. You go, Josh goes. End of story. I don’t trust them,” he said, jerking his head towards her siblings, “I don’t know them, I don’t know how they’ll react under fire. But I trust Joshua, and I need someone there I trust to watch your back.”

 

“What about you?” Panic flared at the thought that Alec wouldn’t be fighting beside her. They always fought side by side. Always. Max snagged his sleeve as he moved to walk past her. He stared down at her, face impassive.

 

“I work best solo.” He shrugged off her arm, and left the room.

 

Mole flashed Max a mouthful of yellow teeth in what was no doubt meant as a reassuring smile and said, “We’ve done shit like this before, Max. The troops secure the perimeter and engage enemy fire while the solo operatives breach the interior and take out the leaders. And Alec’s very good at what he does.”

 

“So is White,” Max said bleakly, “and he hates Alec almost as much as he hates me. You know that.” She brushed past her siblings, still gathered in a knot in the doorway, and headed for the main conference room where she found Alec hunched over Dix’s shoulder, staring intently at the monitor.

 

“Good work, Malachai,” he said into the comm mic. “Maintain visuals. Do not engage – fall back if you have to but maintain a perimeter. We can’t afford to let the bastards know we’re coming. Base out.”

 

He turned to greet Max, barely suppressed excitement flashing in his eyes. “Scouts just confirmed the site. White is there, along with his flunkies and 36 giant urns of the pathogen. This is it, Max.”

 

“Yippee,” she muttered darkly.

 

“Not exactly the response I was going for.”

 

“We’re not all gonna make it, Alec.”

 

“No, we’re not. But on the up side, we’ve kicked their ass before. Every time. Tonight’ll be no different.”

 

“If they dump that shit in the city’s water supply...”

 

“Don’t think about it, Max. Just concentrate on how badly you wanna wipe the smirk off White’s face.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Four Black Hawks cut through the foggy sky above Seattle, the steady thwap-thwap-thwap of the churning rotor blades reverberating off the bulky metal warehouses that lined the docks. Ames White braced himself against the backwash of air raised by the birds’ descent, eyes slit against the dust, the tails of his blue trench coat flapping around his legs. A vicious smile twisted his lips.

 

It took him almost no effort at all to dupe the NSA into thinking he had located the transgenics’ new base of operations. Some falsified Intel and a few doctored satellite photos and the NSA promptly handed over command of a small fleet of military helicopters, simply because he promised to make the mutant freaks disappear.

 

And he would. The fact that they would be a tad too dead to appreciate a mutant-free world wasn’t really his problem, now was it?

 

The birds touched down on the pier opposite Warehouse 19, the only place big enough to accommodate all four. White waited impatiently through the long minutes it took for the flight crew to power down the helicopters and join him at the end of the dock in the shadow of the warehouse.

 

The mission commander acknowledged Agent White amicably and introduced his crew, but his gaze kept flicking to the seven hulking men standing in a silent line at White’s back, armed and dressed in full battle gear, and his eyes held a faint trace of suspicion.

 

White chuckled inwardly. ‘ _The rabbit always sees the hawk’s shadow just before it strikes,_ ’ he reminded himself philosophically, ‘ _but by then it’s already too late._ ’ He smirked at the man, which only seemed to increase his uneasiness.

 

The mission commander cleared his throat nervously, but he met the NSA agent’s eyes squarely. “I was informed this was a reconnaissance flight only, sir.”

 

“Were you?” White shrugged. “The mission parameters have changed.”

 

The mission commander’s look of suspicion deepened, but as any good career soldier would do, he blanked his expression, kept his thoughts to himself, and bowed to authority; after all, it wasn’t his ass on the line. “What are our new orders?”

 

White smirk turned into an unholy smile. “Simple. Die.” Smoothly, he reached beneath his coat, pulled his gun from its holster at the small of his back, and had it aimed and fired before his words even registered. The pilot’s mouth formed a perfect ‘oh’ of surprise and he wavered on his feet before his body succumbed to the inevitable pull of gravity.

 

Seven more shots ran out in perfect unison before the echo of White’s had faded. The bodies of all eight members of the flight crew toppled to the cement, blood blossoming from the holes drilled between their eyes.

 

White let his gun dangle at his side for several seconds, relishing its familiar weight in his hand then slid it back in its holster with a reluctant sigh. “Mission accomplished,” he informed the murdered men.

 

 

~*~

 

 

At day’s end, when the afternoon sun cast long shadows and turned the world into a haze of gold, the transgenic army assembled on the parade grounds of Manticore. Rank upon rank of X5s filled the centre of the quad. To their right were the younger X series – mostly 6s but also the few 7s and 8s that had made it to the rendezvous. To the left of the X5s were the specialty series, including Mole’s Desert Ops. There were gaping holes in their ranks; they were too different, too visible a target, and a lot of them had fallen to the humans’ hate. The nomalies were gathered in a loose clump at the back, behind their fellow transhumans.

 

And in pride of place at the head of the army were the Solo Operatives – Manticore’s most perfect soldiers.

 

Max’s eyes were drawn irresistibly to Alec. He was a shadow in black – black turtleneck, black cargo pants, black combat boots, black Kevlar vest. He was dressed to kill, literally. A chest harness secured a HK 9-mm submachine gun to the front of the vest; his Glock 18 lay snug against the curve of his lower back. Two lightweight throwing knives were strapped to the inside of his forearms, and a third was tucked into his right boot; Max knew he had at least two more blades concealed somewhere on his body. The remaining tools of his murderous trade – a garrotte, additional ammo, C4, and god knows what else – were tucked into the pockets of the utility belt slung around his waist.

 

Alec shifted position, his torso twisting forward and to the right as he leaned to whisper to the X5 standing next to him, and a shaft of sunlight caressed his head, turning his hair into beaten gold. Max wished he’d agreed to wear a helmet.

 

Her own helmet was tucked against her body between her hip and her arm. The fingers of her other hand toyed with the bindings of her Kevlar vest. She hated the feel of it, hated the way it constricted her ribs and made her feel like she couldn’t breathe properly, but the body armour was the price of her participation tonight. Well, one price anyway. The second was Joshua’s presence at her side, his tall, lanky bulk looming over her much smaller frame.

 

Max suppressed a sigh and forced her hand down to her side, away from the bindings. She’d agreed to the price, the vest and Joshua both, and now was not the time to complain about the cost. They were out of time. All that was left was the obligatory speechmaking, and the battle.

 

Joshua pressed one huge hand between her shoulder blades and gently propelled her out of the shadows and towards the waiting crowd. Max took a deep breath and began the long walk to the front of the quad. As she walked between the rows of soldiers she stiffened her spine and raised her head, unconsciously projecting the image of a proud and confident general.

 

It seemed to take forever to reach the front of the quad, and yet, at the same the walk was over all too soon. She could feel the weight of their eyes on her, like living things, and for one horrible moment panic had her and robbed her of the power of speech. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. ‘ _How can I ask them to risk their lives for a world that wants them dead?_ ’

 

But as she stood there at the head of an army, a deep sense of pride welled up inside her. She didn’t have to ask; they were already here. They were hunted and feared, but still, they would do their duty. Her fears and uncertainty faded, leaving behind only a deep sense of conviction. She raised her eyes to the flagpole at the front of the quad, let her gaze linger on the Freak Nation flag as it fluttered in the breeze, and then turned to address her troops.

 

“This is the part where I’m supposed to give this big, inspiring speech... but I’m not going to, and not just because I suck at it. You know the score; you know what’s at stake. You don’t need me to tell you what will happen to the world if we fail tonight.

 

“The Familiars are tough bastards, and yeah, they’ve got that whole ‘feel no pain’ thing going for them. But they can still bleed, and they can die. And EVERY time we’ve gone up against them, we’ve kicked their inbred assess to the curb.

 

“If we do this right, no one will ever know, much less say thanks. But it doesn’t matter. This is our Job. It’s why we exist. We will do our duty, even if it kills us. And when this is all over, and we’ve won – because we WILL win – I say we build ourselves a haven. No more running; no more hiding. We make ourselves a home, a place where we don’t have to hide what we are, where we can be free to stand in the sun. And if the Ordinaries don’t like it... well, they can kiss our genetically engineered asses.”

 


	16. Chapter 16

X5-494 breathed deeply, tasting the night air as much as smelling it, his senses extended to the utmost in all directions. Sharp green eyes took in every detail with a pinpoint precision at odds with his casual, laidback appearance. He was attuned to the slightest alterations in his surroundings, like the predator he was meant to be. And it was glorious.

 

Satisfied that everything was as it should be, that nothing had been overlooked and nothing unforeseen needed to be taken into account, 494 flicked open a channel on his headset. For half a second he wavered between sarcasm and blunt soldier speak, and then shrugged and – just for the hell of it – settled for quoting poetry.

 

“Once more unto the breach.”

 

And all hell broke loose.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Syl lay on her belly on the rooftop of an adjacent warehouse, right eye pressed to the scope of her SV-98 sniper rifle. Less than 50 meters from her position, a Familiar sentry stood guard on the rooftop of Warehouse 19, half-hidden in the shadow of an air vent. Syl allowed herself a small smile; the shadows weren’t nearly deep enough to hide her target from her genetically-enhanced vision and the odds that she could miss from this distance were laughably small.

 

Syl dropped into her ‘zone’, no longer aware of the grit that dug uncomfortably into her knees and belly, or the cool breeze tugging at the blonds strands that had worked free of her tight braid, or the distant slurping of the waves against the wooden pilings of the dock. There was only her finger on the trigger, her eye on the scope, and the target. Everything else just fell away.

 

Centred, barely breathing, she squeezed the trigger and watched, face impassive, as the Familiar’s head exploded in a crimson shower.

 

Opening a channel to mission command, she calmly announced, “X5-701 reporting. Target acquired.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Meanwhile, safely ensconced at Manticore, Dix accessed the back door program he installed in the mainframe at Seattle Power, all those months ago when they were still hiding out in Terminal City and holding the municipal power supply hostage might have served as a useful bargaining chip, had they ended up standing a siege instead of running for the hills. Pale fingers flying over the keyboard, he typed in the security code to the power grid and triggered an electrical surge that plunged all of Sector 12 into a brown out.

 

The fact that Warehouse 19 lacked a working secondary generator, combined with the fact that the Familiars lacked the anatomical adjustments necessary for keen night vision, gave the transgenics a distinct advantage in the fight. The fact that the power outage was sector-wide and not just confined to a single area kept municipal employees from investigating, and thereby disrupting, said fight.

 

Dix grinned hugely and leaned back in his chair, pleased with his contribution to the cause.

 

 

~*~

 

 

 

Hunkered down behind a pile of wooden crates on the seaward side of the warehouse, Mole hefted a 25mm Militech Mini-Grenade Launcher, took careful aim, and calmly blew a hole in one of the rolling bay doors. The door exploded with a satisfying whoosh, torn and twisted metal flying through the air like confetti. The surrounding air crackled with heat.

 

Startled screams echoed from inside the warehouse. True, they were mostly screams of rage, but there was the odd scream of pain mixed in too. Mole grinned and took a long drag on his cigar.

 

Dropping the grenade launcher, he pulled a Remington Wingmaster pump-action repeater shotgun – loaded with solid cartridges rather than the standard buckshot – from the duffle bag at his feet and prepared to drop anyone so foolish as to try and make a break for the loaded helicopters waiting on the pier behind him and his team.

 

 

~*~

 

 

494 flattened himself against the wall at the rear entrance to the warehouse, beside the door that opened onto the back alley where the dumpsters and recycling bins sat empty. He turned his head against the flash of light as a mini-explosive blew the lock on the heavy steel door, the slight pffft sound it made timed to coincide with the larger explosion caused by Mole’s grenade.

 

A squad of heavy combat soldiers led by X5-646 stormed the entrance. They dove to the floor and rolled in one smooth motion, guns in their hands and ready to fire as they came up in a crouch.

 

494 waited a beat, long enough for the X5s to engage the Familiars set to guard the back entrance, and then signalled to his fellow solo operatives waiting in the wings. They blurred through the door and around the edges of the fight, moving so fast not even their own squad mates saw them go. As soon as they had cleared the fight, they fanned out into the dark interior.

 

Five mad scientists were waiting somewhere inside the vast warehouse.

 

The hunt was on.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Max crouched behind the rear wheel of Ames White’s government-issue sedan, conveniently parked at a right angle to the business entrance at the front of the warehouse. Taking cover next to her were Joshua, Zane, Krit, and Jondy; poor Joshua was folded double, his oversized frame all knobby knees and elbows just to keep his head from poking above the bottom edge of the passenger window.

 

It was ironic that White’s car was perfectly situated to lay down cover fire to keep the Familiars pinned while her transgenic brethren flooded the warehouse from every other side. It was even more ironic that she had absolutely no intention of using the gun Alec insisted she carry.

 

Max craned her neck to peer over the trunk of the car, scanning for weak points or breaks in the wall that might be used as gunnery holes by those inside. The large glass windows that fronted the building were boarded over and decorated with multi-layered graffiti slogans, slogans that were both obscene and merely crude. The plywood was old and warped and looked as if it had been nailed in place the day the business first went bankrupt nearly 10 years ago, but it was still intact.

 

For the most part, Warehouse 19 resembled any one of a thousand abandoned buildings across post-Pulse Seattle. What spoiled the image was the new and improved front door; truly abandoned warehouses tend not to sport doors better suited to reinforced steel bunkers. The typical glass business entrance, the kind that come with the company name stencilled in bright lettering on the window, had been replaced by a heavy steel door complete with peephole – a dead give-away that something extremely valuable, not to mention illegal, was hidden inside.

 

In the near distance, gunfire punctuated the otherwise peaceful night; Hell’s own marching band, playing the soundtrack of her childhood.

 

Max curled her lips in a feral grin. Her squad’s mission was to secure the exit and prevent any attempts at a retreat through the parking lot. She was supposed to hold the line and let the battle come to her.

 

Screw that.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Warehouse 19 was an ugly but functional rectangular box. A set of stairs at the front of the building led to a fair-sized landing lined with a row of closed doors; office space for the management. The space beneath the landing was walled off from the rest of the warehouse and contained both the general reception area and counters for shipping and receiving. The remainder of the interior was an open, cavernous space.

 

On a catwalk high above the warehouse floor, 494 swiftly made his way towards the offices, his target’s most likely location. He monitored the gunfire, his mind tracking the flow of battle even as the larger part of his attention was occupied with his own mission. He judged the firefight as densest on the seaward side; the Familiars were determined to punch their way through to the birds waiting on the pier, as was to be expected. However, since they were taking heavy fire on the landward side as well, they couldn’t spare the manpower for a concerted push. They would be down to hand-to-hand soon, once his teams breached the outer defences and began sweeping the interior.

 

494 grinned in anticipation. The Familiars’ strange insensitivity to pain did not make them invincible, and there was one breeding cult loony he would dearly love to use to test the limits of their pain tolerance. Two, if that jacked-up bitch from the Jam Pony fiasco was still in town.

 

A sudden explosion rocked the building on its foundations. X5-523 – ‘Mick’, his brain supplied automatically – had just blown out one of the loading bay doors on the landward side of the warehouse. 494 nodded in satisfaction. Everything was on schedule and proceeding according to plan.

 

He had a mark to locate.

 

By now, 646 and his team would have retreated back beyond the wall, taking the bodies of the dead guards with them. Odds were excellent that the cult wasn’t even aware their perimeter had been breached. Focused on repelling the invasion, they most likely hadn’t seen the need to set guards on the scientists yet. Which left him with the element of surprise.

 

494 cautiously approached the office at the tail end of the landing and furthest from the stairs. Pressing his back to the wall on the hinge side of the door, he listened intently. The room was silent and apparently empty, but the high metal ceiling amplified the gunfire and made it all but impossible to detect the presence or absence of a heartbeat through the din.

 

494 drew his HK 9-mm SMG and set it to single shot mode. Dropping to a crouch so as to present the smallest target possible, 494 pushed open the door with his left hand and held the gun steady in his right and swept as much of the interior as he could see. There was very little furniture inside; only a battered desk and a single filing cabinet, both pushed up against the outer wall. Moonlight shone feebly through the dirt-encrusted window. Diving to the floor and rolling to the side, 494 quickly scanned the area behind the half-open door.

 

Eight corpses lay in an untidy pile against the far wall. Dried blood from the precisely drilled bullet holes left a trail between sightless staring eyes. Execution kills from close range. And completely unexpected too, judging from the faint expressions of surprise etched on their faces.

 

Obviously, these eight men were the flight crew assigned to the shiny NSA helicopters parked on the pier outside.

 

494 was inured to the sight of violent death and had been from an early age. He was not a squeamish human, to get nightmares from the sight of blood and murder. He’d seen bodies in far worse shape than this. Had done worse himself, in fact, back in the day. But as he stared at the dead flight crew, something stirred inside him, in the parts of him that were ‘Alec’ and not just the soldier X5-494.

 

This was wrong. This was pointless and unnecessary. These men did not have to die.

 

They deserved better than this.

 

One of the men reminded him of Biggs.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Ames White punched the office wall with sufficient force to smash his arm through the cheap plaster clear up to his elbow. It was a foolish and undisciplined reaction, but the blind rage inside him demanded release and there was no other outlet close to hand.

 

Yet.

 

White stared at his damaged, bleeding knuckles. The lack of pain steadied him.

 

They would come for the scientists, those filthy soulless unclean animals.

 

Let them.

 

The scientists were irrelevant now. The virus already existed. It was there, waiting to be unleashed.

 

White’s lip curled in a disdainful smile. He wasn’t a beast, driven and controlled by his instincts like those fucking animals outside. He was one of the Blessed – the next stage of human evolution. And their Ascension would not be overthrown, not by those disgusting, ugly, mutant sideshow freaks. Not by a race whose very existence was a mockery of everything his people had accomplished over the millennia.

 

He would not be thwarted. He would unleash the Purification himself, ritual chanting be damned. The world would be forever cleansed of the stink of humanity.

 

And then he would punish his father’s creations for daring to exist.

 

Wrenching open the office door, White stepped out into the landing hallway. Ignoring the stairs altogether, he vaulted the iron railing and dropped straight to the floor of the warehouse.

 

 

~*~

 

 

494 watched from the shadows as White jumped the railing and vanished into the dark interior of the warehouse. His body hummed with the desire to give chase. He wanted to bloody his fists on that arrogant face; pin the NSA agent by his throat against the nearest wall until he gasped for air; make him fear for his continued existence the same as any of his victims, transgenic or human.

 

But he still had a target to acquire, and the mission was what mattered. It came first. Always.

 

‘ _Mission_ _. Duty. Discipline.’_

 

Retribution would just have to wait a few more minutes.

 

494 diligently searched the office White had just vacated, confirming that the NSA agent was indeed the only occupant, and then moved off down the hall towards the next office.

 

He found his mark – Dr Theodore Cross, progenitor of the virus – behind door number three. The doctor was pacing the confines of the tiny office, swearing in a constant litany under his breath and jabbing ineffectively at the buttons on his cell phone. He was unable to get a signal thanks to Dix, who was jamming every cell tower in the sector, and it was making him frantic. The room stank of his fear. Clearly this was a man bred for brains, not nerve.

 

This man’s research might have cured cancer or AIDS or any one of the countless diseases that plagued mankind. Instead, he chose to create one more; one to put all the rest to shame.

 

494 could not find it within himself to regret what he was about to do.

 

Moving as stealthily as only a transgenic could, 494 snuck up behind Dr Cross. He looped his garrotte – his weapon of choice – around the Familiar’s neck cross-handed and pulled. The doctor made a dreadful wheezing noise and struggled violently for air, his fingernails scraping his neck raw in a desperate bid to dislodge the cruel wire. The heels of his expensive leather dress shoes drummed spastically against the floor. 494 merely tightened the wire and waited him out.

 

Eventually, the doctor quit flailing and sagged against 494’s chest, his body so much limp, dead weight. 494 maintained his hold several seconds, just to be certain. When he was satisfied the mark was dead and not merely unconscious, he gently lowered the man into the desk chair and posed the body so that a cursory glance from the doorway would not reveal anything suspicious.

 

Thumbing open a channel on his headset, 494 calmly reported, “Target alpha acquired.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

On the seaward side of the warehouse, one of the uberFamiliars – a hulking, sandy-haired brute of a man with a broken nose and shoulders a linebacker would kill for – leaned too far into the gap of what used to be the bay doors. Either reckless or daring or just too damn stupid to know any better.

 

Grinning like a fiend, Mole drew a bead and suddenly there was one less Familiar in the world, and one more mark on his mental scorecard.

 

He hadn’t had this much fun in forever.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Mission accomplished, 494 exited the small office. Vaulting the railing, he dropped 15 feet to the main floor below. Crouching low to minimize the possibility of detection, he listened intently, forming a mental image of the battle out of the cacophony of sound. Gunfire still raged on both sides of the warehouse, but much less than it had been just a minute ago. They were mostly down to hand-to-hand now, the net slowly tightening as the transgenic strike teams moved in from all sides.

 

494 smiled grimly. ‘ _Time’s up, you bastards._ ’

 

Beneath the gunfire, 494 picked out the sounds of a violent struggle. Swivelling to identify the source, he tracked the noise to one of the rooms under the landing. The only transgenics to have penetrated this deep into the interior of the warehouse were the solo operatives. 494 quickly moved to intercept.

 

Pressing his back to the cheap paperboard wall, 494 peered around the doorframe into what turned out to be the employee break room. It was quite thoroughly trashed. Tables were either shoved against the walls or overturned completely, and the folding metal chairs that had once been pushed neatly under the tables were now scattered around the room.

 

X5-229’s assigned mark – a woman with mousy brown hair skinned back into a tight bun and dressed in a frumpy suit and sensible shoes – waited in the small kitchenette in the corner opposite the door. Her upper lip was curled into a disgusted sneer; the kind of expression pampered women wore after stepping in something unspeakably foul while wearing $400 designer boots.

 

In the middle of the room, X5-229 – Reina, one of 494’s favourite sparring partners – was pinned between two soldiers from the cult’s Phalanx guard. The shorter of the two uberFamiliars – a squat, barrel-chested brute with thighs to rival tree trunks and arms to match – held 229 immobilized in a chokehold. His partner – tall and broad-shouldered, with a greying crew cut – picked himself off the floor from where 229 had kicked him and slammed a heavy fist into her exposed side.

 

Both men dwarfed the petite Asian X5. She looked like a child being accosted by the schoolyard bullies for her lunch money. 494 was reminded of those pre-Pulse after-school TV specials.

 

Of course, in those movies, the victim didn’t turn around and beat the crap out of the bullies.

 

229 lashed out with her left foot, catching the taller Familiar just below the knee and forcing him to step back. With room now to manoeuvre, she kicked off the floor and flipped herself completely up and over her captor’s head, breaking his chokehold on her neck in the process. Her boot caught the taller Familiar in the jaw on the upswing, rocking his head back.

 

Attempting to even the odds, 229 locked one hand on the stocky Familiar’s face and the other behind his head. But before she could exert enough force to snap his neck, he reached back and snagged her vest by one of the shoulder straps, and threw her over his shoulder to land on the floor on her back. 229 was momentarily stunned by the force of her landing.

 

494 dove into the fight, catching the taller Familiar around the knees just as he pulled his right foot back to deliver a punishing kick to 229’s ribs. The Familiar hit the floor hard. Rolling clear, 494 arched his back into a bridge and kicked out with his feet, launching himself upright.

 

Recovered from her fall, 229 swept her leg out, knocking her opponent off-balance though unfortunately not off his feet. Rolling to the side, she regained her footing. “Let’s try this again, shall we?” she asked brightly.

 

229 lashed out with a straight kick to the kidneys. The stocky Familiar held his stance and took the blow, and then attempted to get close, preferring to pound on his opponents with fists and knees where his bulk gave him the advantage. 229 went down into a backwards somersault that brought her to her feet in a position to land a roundhouse kick to the Familiar’s head. She slid to the side and retreated out of arm’s reach, using her greater agility and speed to dodge the flurry of heavy body blows intended to break a rib and drive it into her lung.

 

In the far corner, the mark began edging towards the open door, on the verge of bolting for freedom. 494 whirled, snatched the nearest chair, and tossed it straight at her head. She brought one arm up in time to protect her face, but still went down in a messy heap. 494 grinned.

 

Whatever worked.

 

The tactic cost him. The taller Familiar nailed him in the back of the head with a double-fisted swing. 494 let it drop him to the floor. Pushing off with his hands, he kicked out with both feet and caught the Familiar in the gut, knocking him back two steps. 494 rolled to the side and surged to his feet. The Familiar came after him with a vicious backhanded swing. 494 ducked, and the fist whistled harmlessly over his head. 494 feinted to the right then ducked under the Familiar’s guard and slammed an elbow into his face. He just absorbed the blow and ignored the blood that dripped from his broken nose.

 

Damn that ‘feel no pain’ policy.

 

“Weak, pathetic animal!” the Familiar snarled.

 

“Who’re you calling weak? You’re the one tag-teaming a little girl,” 494 retorted.

 

494 threw a fast left hook at the Familiar’s head, or at least he tried to. His stiff and still-healing muscles protested and the arm didn’t move as quickly as it should. The Familiar easily blocked the punch with his forearm and then slammed his off-hand into 494’s sore ribs. Pain flared up his entire side. Grunting, 494 back-pedalled out of reach. Shifting his combat stance to compensate for the pain, he presented his uninjured left side.

 

The Familiar registered the change in 494’s lead foot and laughed. Closing the distance, he threw a left hook designed to open up 494’s guard and followed through with a straight punch aimed at 494’s right side. 494 dropped into a leg sweep that hit the Familiar in the thigh and took his feet out from under him. He rolled clear, but not before 494 stomped down hard on his right hand. The little bones snapped with a satisfying crunch.

 

Time to end this.

 

Dancing backwards out of reach, 494 palmed one of his throwing knives in his right hand. The Familiar rushed him, impatient for the kill. 494 ducked under his guard. Bringing his right hand up in an underhand cut, he slid the knife beneath the third rib and rammed it into the heart. The Familiar stared in disbelief at the dagger that blossomed from his chest. He grunted and threw a wild punch that 494 dodged easily, then dropped to his knees and keeled over on his side, dead. Panting, one hand pressed to his aching ribs, 494 turned to survey the room.

 

In the kitchenette, the mark kicked off the metal chair, sending it skidding across the floor into the fridge, and got to her feet using her left arm for leverage. Her right arm hung uselessly at her side. Blood trickled from a small cut on her cheekbone.

 

‘ _Fractured wrist,_ ’ 494 surmised. He suppressed an unwanted tinge of sympathy. ‘ _Fucking conscience._ ’ Assassination was so much easier without it.

 

He turned to watch 229 fight, though he kept the mark in the periphery of his vision. 229 aimed a spin kick at the Familiar’s temple. He intercepted the kick, grabbing her leg at the ankle while she was still balanced on one foot. 229 dropped to her hands, pivoting around her captive foot and slamming her free foot into the Familiar’s groin. He grunted and staggered backwards, his hands automatically dropping to cup his injured balls.

 

Selective breeding aside, certain types of pain just can’t be ignored.

 

229 pushed off the ground into a backhand spring. Both of her boot heels connected with the Familiar’s chin as she flipped up and over, sending him crashing backwards to the floor. Shaking his head to clear it, he surged to his feet. 229 danced backwards by several paces, giving her sufficient room and time to pull her gun. The bullet took him in the heart and sent him flying backwards. Without missing a beat, 229 pivoted and put a bullet in her mark’s back just as she bolted for the exit.

 

Flashing a quick grin of thanks to 494 for leaving her the kill, 229 fingered her headset and opened a channel. “Target gamma acquired.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Syl lay motionless on the rooftop, her rifle trained on Warehouse 19. She waited and watched, alert for any signs of movement along the perimeter. The sound of gunfire drifting on the night breeze kept her company.

 

Something stirred in the shadows covering the smashed loading bay doors. Syl narrowed her eyes and focused on the source of the movement. Five figures ducked out of the warehouse – three tattooed priests in hooded robes and two guards in black body armour, guns drawn.

 

Syl smiled. Her hands were steady on the cold metal of the rifle.

 

Lydecker would be so proud.

 

The guards paused for a quick scan of the area and then hustled the priestesses across the lot. Syl ignored the two guards and targeted the first priestess in line instead, since one of tonight’s priorities was to gut the breeding cult’s ruling class. She took careful aim and waited for the perfect moment. When her target had almost reached the far side of the lot, she fired.

 

The bullet hit the mark perfectly. The sniper next to Syl fired a second later, and the second target went down. Syl aimed and fired again, eliminating the third priestess. Pleased, Syl trained her rifle on one of the guards but before she could take him out, four transgenics appeared from nowhere and closed in, engaging the guards in hand-to-hand combat.

 

Syl swore softly, and searched the night for a new target.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Surrounded and out of options, the priestesses and the surviving members of the Phallanx guard had gathered by one of the blasted loading bay doors, readying themselves for a desperate run for freedom.

 

494 attacked from behind, slamming a priestess in the back of the skull with a vicious crescent kick. She pitched forward into the priestess standing in front of her; both women went down; their efforts to right themselves hampered by the billowing robes now tangled around their legs. Beside him, 229 seized a second priestess by the skull; a sharp twist to the right, and the woman’s neck snapped like a twig.

 

With a screech, a tattooed and painted high priestess snatched a curved ceremonial dagger from her belt and leaped for 494, her claw-like hands gripping the handle in an overhead strike. 494 grabbed her wrists, dropped his weight backwards, and catapulted her over his head to land hard on her back on the warehouse floor. Wrenching the dagger from her grasp, he buried it in her throat.

 

Suddenly, 494’s earpiece crackled to life. <Target epsilon acquired.>

 

494 grinned. Three dead scientists.

 

Almost immediately the line went live again. <Target beta acquired.>

 

494’s grin widened.

 

Only one to go.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The front entrance opened onto a general reception area. A waist-high counter ran nearly the length of the room, dividing it into two sections. The area nearest the entrance was furnished with a desk, filing cabinets, two couches in truly hideous yellow upholstery, and a couple of fake potted palms. The long wall behind the counter held cubby-hole shelving units and an archway that led into the interior of the warehouse.

 

Five uberFamiliars walked through the archway, guns drawn – three males and two females, wearing identical black uniforms and the blank-faced expressions of seasoned soldiers. A thin man in a rumpled white lab coat and glasses trailed along behind.

 

Max signalled to her team. Nodding in understanding, they maintained their position. They’d taken what cover they could behind the furniture. Given a choice, Max would have preferred her old trick of clinging to the ceiling – no one EVER looked up – but the ceiling here was smooth, no rafters to brace against.

 

The Familiars cautiously moved around the end of the counter and penetrated further into the room.

 

It seemed like overkill to Max; five guards to protect a single scientist. This scrawny man wasn’t even the head of the project. Only it wasn’t him they were guarding so much as what he was carrying – a laptop was tucked against his side under his left arm, and in his right hand he clutched a stoppered glass vial.

 

Max’s blood ran cold at the sight of the vial and its clear liquid contents. It was obviously a sample of the pathogen – enough for the cult to replicate more, at any time. Her heart accelerated to a fever pitch and suddenly her blood was no longer cold; it was boiling, pumping adrenaline and fury through her veins.

 

They were NOT leaving here with that vial.

 

At Max’s signal, her team blurred from their hiding places, each hitting one of the uberFamiliars.

 

Max lashed out with a right-footed roundhouse kick that sent the Familiar’s gun flying. Bringing that leg down, she transferred her weight and immediately spun into a second, left-footed roundhouse kick to the head. The Familiar staggered but shook off the blow. She dove in before Max’s balance was firm and punched the X5 twice in the stomach. Max danced back out of reach. They began to circle warily.

 

Joshua batted the Familiar’s gun aside like he was swatting a mosquito. Hoisting the man in the air by the front of his uniform, Joshua shook him so hard his teeth rattled and then heaved him across the room into the far wall.

 

Zane came in low and fast, tackling a burly Familiar around the waist. Both men went down in a tangle of limbs and the gun went skidding out of sight across the floor.

 

Jondy loosed a crescent kick that knocked the gun out of the guard’s hand. He lashed out with a fist that just barely missed its mark. Leaping high, Jondy snapped a kick to his head that caught him on the chin. The Familiar absorbed the blow and rushed her. Jondy sidestepped the charge and elbowed him in the face. He responded with a backhand that split her lip and rocked her head back.

 

Krit grabbed the Familiar’s gun and wrestled her for control. She pulled the trigger, but the bullet blew harmlessly out the boarded-up window behind him. Krit slammed the Familiar’s wrist against his upraised knee, knocking the gun out of her grip. Bringing it up, he smashed her in the face, hitting her in the nose with it. Blood spurted. She didn’t even flinch at the pain. Her foot came up and she kicked Krit in the stomach, knocking them apart. Krit lost his hold on the gun as he fell backwards to the floor.

 

Zane’s opponent kicked him in the head then rolled clear and jumped to his feet. Zane flipped himself upright and into a combat stance before the Familiar could close on his position again. Blurring forward, Zane hammered his cocked elbow into the man’s chin with sufficient force to render most men unconscious. It barely fazed his opponent. Smiling nastily, he drilled Zane with an uppercut that lifted the X5 off his feet. Zane staggered but managed to keep from dropping. Shaking his head to clear it, Zane blocked the incoming punch with his forearm and slammed his off-hand into the Familiar’s ribs. He felt one crack beneath his fist, and smiled in satisfaction.

 

Joshua was on his attacker before he could recover from his impromptu flight. Picking him up, Joshua rammed him into a filing cabinet. Bracing himself against the cabinet, the Familiar kicked out and nailed Joshua squarely in the chest with both boots. Snarling now, Joshua punched him in the face and tossed him the width of the room. The Familiar landed on the counter, cracking the wood surface.

 

Jondy spat blood from her mouth and glared at her attacker. “Filth,” he sneered. Furious, Jondy launched herself at him. She threw a straight punch to his throat, which he evaded. Blocking her punch with his forearm, he drove his off-hand hard into her kidneys. Jondy gasped and doubled over the fist. She countered with an underhand punch to the groin and a head butt that knocked him back a step. He grabbed her wrist as she threw another punch and swung her into a nearby wall.

 

Max took a crescent kick to the head that knocked her helmet askew, blocking her vision. Max back-pedalled, fingers fumbling with the straps, and finally managed to rip it off. A backhand caught Max in the face and split her lip open. “Bitch,” she yelled, tasting her own blood. The Familiar smiled nastily. Pissed, Max let loose with a vicious straight kick to the stomach that sent the woman airborne. She flew backwards and collided with a couch. Unbalanced, it tipped over, tumbling her to the floor on the other side. Max vaulted over the couch after her.

 

Krit rolled to the side to avoid a kick to the face. He formed a bridge, kicked his legs upwards and slammed both boots into the Familiar’s chest, knocking her backwards into a wall. He flipped to his feet and blurred forward to intercept. She stood her ground and backhanded him across the face. Krit shook off the blow. He hammered an elbow into her stomach and then stepped back out of reach. They circled, fists ready, each searching for a hole in the other’s defences.

 

Zane lashed out with a straight punch to the kidneys and a second to the throat. The Familiar countered with a backhanded fist that rocked Zane on his feet. Zane shook off the blow. Feinting to the left, he aimed a punch at the Familiar’s head. The Familiar parried the hit and retaliated with a lightning fast hook that caught Zane on the left temple. Dropping to one knee, Zane struck at the Familiar’s exposed ribcage. In return, he kneed Zane in the face. Hard. Blood spurted from a broken nose. Zane dropped into a backward somersault and regained his feet. He spat blood from his mouth.

 

Joshua pounced before his attacker could regain his footing and pinned the man in a chokehold. The Familiar struggled violently to dislodge Joshua, but Joshua just dug in his heels and refused to be moved.

 

Jondy rebounded off the wall and dropped into a leg sweep. The Familiar jumped in the air to avoid the sweep. Jondy tucked into a somersault, barely escaping the boots aimed at stomping on her head, and sprang to her feet. She spun and whipped her back leg up and around in a roundhouse kick to the head. The Familiar ducked and retaliated with a strike to the solar plexus that drove the air from the X5’s lungs and knocked her to the ground. Laughing, he kicked her hard in the side before she could roll out of range. She felt at least one rib crack with the force of the kick.

 

The Familiar grabbed for Max as she dove over the couch. The two women rolled over and over, each struggling for dominance. Max managed to land two good hits before the Familiar planted her knee in Max’s stomach. She kicked the X5 off and jumped to her feet. Max twisted her body around and swept the woman’s legs out from under her. Flipping herself upright, Max was met with a boot to the stomach. Max grabbed the woman’s leg by the ankle and twisted, but the Familiar ignored the pain and used the X5’s hold for leverage to leave the floor and kick Max in the diaphragm with her other boot. Max staggered backwards, releasing her hold on the Familiar’s ankle. She rolled smoothly to her feet.

 

Krit attacked with a right punch to the kidneys and a left hook. The Familiar parried both blows and threw an uppercut to the jaw that Krit just barely managed to deflect. Pressing her advantage, she lunged forward, aiming a straight jab at his unprotected throat. Krit twisted sideways and the hit glanced off his shoulder. Blocking his counter-blow, she loosed a spinning kick that caught the X5 in the temple. Krit back-pedalled out of arm’s reach, blinking away the blood that dripped into his eye from the torn skin.

 

Jondy rolled to the side, trying to get clear of her attacker. Her lungs burned and she gasped for air, unable to catch her breath. The Familiar kicked her again, and again she felt a rib give way. Desperate, she kept rolling. Her fingers brushed against cold metal; Jondy snatched up the gun, rolled over onto her back, and fired. The bullet slammed into his heart, knocking him backwards off his feet; he crashed heavily to the ground. Jondy gulped in a grateful breath then got to her feet. She scanned the room, searching for another target.

 

Zane threw a fast punch which the Familiar blocked. Whirling around, he clocked Zane on the side of the head with a heavy hit that made his ears ring. The two men were evenly matched in strength and power but Zane was losing momentum; Zane wondered how many more blows to the head he could take. His left eye was almost swollen shut and blood still dribbled from his broken nose, making his breathing wet and ragged. Zane shifted his weight to his left leg and landed a side kick with his right to the Familiar’s cracked ribs. He hammered an elbow into Zane’s knee before the X5 could retract the leg. Zane grunted as pain shot up his leg. He back-pedalled out of reach, moving awkwardly. They began to circle.

 

Max growled in frustration. Blurring forward, she slammed the Familiar in the side of the head with a cocked elbow. She spun with the impact and retaliated with a vicious kick to the back of the X5’s knee, causing the leg to buckle. As Max staggered, off-balance, the Familiar grabbed Max by the arm, swung her in a full circle and sent her flying into a wall. Max hit the wall hard, her entire body jarring in pain. Rebounding off the wall, Max landed in a crouch and sprang towards the Familiar. She nailed the woman in the stomach, doubling her over her fist.

 

Joshua let the limp form of the strangled guard drop from his arms. He looked for Max and saw the doctor scrambling for the exit. With a roar, Joshua dove after the fleeing man. Grabbing him by the back of his rumpled lab coat, Joshua whirled around and flung him back across the room. The laptop and the vial went flying. Cursing Joshua’s parentage, the doctor scrabbled after the vial on hands and knees. Panting, Joshua moved to block the door. 

 

Krit’s opponent came after him with a jump kick. Krit slid sideways and drove his fist into her exposed side. Whirling, she retaliated with a roundhouse punch to the face that rocked him back on his heels. Krit grunted. She smirked. Feinting to the left, Krit let fly with a straight right to the head. The Familiar dodged the blow, grabbed his arm at the wrist as the punch whistled harmlessly past her ear, spun, and crashed his arm down against her shoulder. Krit’s elbow broke with a loud crack. He staggered backwards. Smiling, the Familiar lashed out with a side kick to the stomach that doubled him over.

 

‘ _Shit._ ’ “Krit, duck!” Jondy yelled.

 

Krit immediately dropped to the floor. Jondy fired. The bullet took the woman between the eyes. She wavered on her feet, her jaw hanging open in surprise, and then slowly toppled backwards to the floor.

 

Breathing audibly, Zane tried for a roundhouse kick that didn’t connect and faked a stumble when he landed on his bad leg. Grinning, the Familiar bought it. He came in for the kill, head lowered to butt the X5 off balance and take him down. Zane stepped forward, slipped in under the Familiar’s guard, grabbed his skull in both hands, and twisted; his neck snapped with an audible crack. Zane let the body drop, its staring eyes wide and unmoving.

 

Max’s attacker grabbed her by the front of her Kevlar vest and flipped her over her shoulder to land, hard, on her back on the desk. Max gasped as the air left her lungs in a whoosh. The Familiar then slammed Max in the sternum with a double-handed fist that made the X5’s eyes water. Max jackknifed her legs, and caught the Familiar in a pincer grip with her knees around the woman’s neck, ankles locked behind her skull. With a twist of her hips, the woman’s neck snapped; the body fell lifeless to the ground, head lolling to the side at an impossible angle.

 

Panting heavily, Max got off the desk and surveyed the damage around her. The room was in shambles, but the Familiars were down and they were the ones left standing. Bloody and broken, but still standing all the same. She smiled.

 

A shot rang out in the sudden stillness. Max spun around and dropped into a combat stance.

 

The doctor dropped face first to the floor, a bullet dead centre between his eyes. The glass vial fell from his nerveless fingers and rolled across the floor and came to a stop next to the filing cabinet.

 

A transgenic soldier stood in the archway behind the counter, gun arm extended. X5, with unruly ginger hair and a face full of freckles. It took Max several seconds before she could place him – Finn, Alec’s partner from the sparring match she witnessed just two days ago.

 

“Thanks,” he said, grinning, “I was looking for him.” Finn indicated the target with a jerk of his head. Leaning over the counter for a closer look, he shook his head, clearly unimpressed. “Fuck, what a loser. I’da really hated being goat on account of him. Do you know how many bottles of scotch I’da had to front if he made it outta here?” Max stared blankly at him.

 

Finn shrugged and opened a channel on his head set. “Target delta acquired.”

 

Max calmly crossed the room to stand next to the filing cabinet. Raising her foot, she stomped down hard on the vial, grinding the glass to powder beneath her boot heel.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Syl dutifully scanned the length of the pier, paying particular attention to the shadows and relying on her hearing and scent as well as vision to compensate for the fog that was rolling in off the ocean and thickening by the minute. 494 had ordered the snipers off the roof and on sentry duty. Boring, but Syl didn’t mind. She was grateful for the chance to stand on her feet and move around instead of stretched out flat on her belly on the cold roof. Besides, guarding four abandoned birds was a far sight better than body retrieval.

 

Although she couldn’t pinpoint the location of the sentry stationed next to the warehouse, she knew he was there and that all was quiet at his end; she’d have heard his signal if it wasn’t. Satisfied that there were no immediate threats in the environment, Syl relaxed her stance, rolling her shoulders to ease the kinks in her neck and between her shoulder blades. Then she bent her head to examine her rifle, the muzzle dipping slightly towards the ground while she blew carbon out of the breech and checked the seat of the clip.

 

A tiny sound drifted on the wind from behind her and to the left. Her brain automatically identified it as the squeak of a man’s shoe, even as she moved to intercept. Syl pivoted on her back leg and whipped the rifle up and around, but before she could get the barrel up into firing position a dark shape slammed into her from the shadows. Pain blossomed behind her right temple, and the world went dark.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The heavy bay doors were bent and twisted out of all recognition, ripped apart as easily as tissue paper and still hot to the touch. Mole’s idea of knocking.

 

‘ _Logan’s right,_ ’ Max thought giddily as she walked out of the charnel house formally known as Warehouse 19, ‘ _Transgenics really are woefully lacking in manners._ ’ She giggled; a high-pitched trill that she was just too tired and too buzzed to hold in. Biting on her knuckle hard enough to draw blood, she choked the laughter off before it could become a full-fledged hysterical fit. Her entire body fairly hummed with the adrenaline high from the fight.

 

Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply and let the crisp, salt-tinged night air wash over her until she was calm and settled and something approaching a proper soldier again. She looked for the sentries, but a heavy fog was rolling in off the ocean, dampening her senses, and transgenics were just too damn good at hiding in the shadows. Max shrugged, unconcerned, and started the long walk down the pier.

 

She stopped opposite the first chopper in line and silently contemplated the heavy urns strapped to the cargo hold floor. The urns were made of clay in the shape of Greek amphorae and painted with elaborate runes that spiralled widdershins from the urn’s fluted top down to its fat belly.

 

36 urns total; 12 cities. That made it 3 urns per city – the number no doubt chosen to represent some sacred, unholy trinity. ‘ _Or ease of carrying,_ ’ she thought, eyeing the heavy urns. It would take more-than-human strength to heft one of those.

 

Max glanced back at the warehouse, her mind busy cataloguing the different players and their roles in this misbegotten attempt at racial cleansing. A team of five scientists, to shepherd the pathogen until show time. The Phallanx – so many Max didn’t bother to count them all – to defend the urns. Ames White, to cloak the entire operation with the legitimacy of his government day job. And three dozen priests to perform the ritual itself – 12 painted and tattooed high priestesses to rattle the bones and speak in forked tongues, and 24 acolytes for the lifting, carrying and pouring portion of the festivities.

 

Max eyed the interior of the Black Hawk again. Nine heavy urns strapped to the cargo hold and room besides for the priests and their guards. White could certainly have gotten a convoy through the sector checkpoints with a wave of his government-issue ID, but the choppers let them bypass the pesky checkpoints altogether. And no doubt if they cared to search, they would find 12 planes at one of the abandoned airstrips outside the city, just waiting to whisk away the urns and their vile contents.

 

Clever. But not clever enough.

 

Thankfully.

 

Max moved down the line of helicopters, compulsively counting urns as she went. Nine in the first chopper... nine in the second... nine in the third... eight in the fourth.

 

Max forgot to breathe as she stared, horrified, at the slashed cargo straps.

 

One urn was missing. Gone. Taken.

 

She spun and ran full out for the warehouse. Halfway there a second thought hit her with such force it knocked her off her stride. Earlier tonight her team took shelter behind White’s car.

 

His car was here.

 

Where was he?

 

Max pulled up the memory of the dead Familiars now laid in neat rows down the centre of the warehouse, mentally rotating the image to come at it from all sides, searching for White among the horde. But his wasn’t one of the broken and bloodied corpses inside the warehouse.

 

One urn was missing... and so was Ames White.

 


	17. Chapter 17

Max stood alone at the far end of the pier; a black-clad statue drenched in shadows. Beneath her feet the waters of the Pacific Ocean lapped at the wooden pilings and rolled away into the night. Her dark eyes stared out at the distant horizon. Slowly she tilted her head back and let her vision track the shimmering path of moonlight across the harbour waters and up into the bruised purple-black sky.

 

Rage pounded through her veins, chased by fear and despair. Her fingernails raised bloody crescents on her palms with the effort of keeping it inside.

 

Transgenic crewmen swarmed over the Black Hawk behind her, busily checking fuel lines and electrical panels. More than a dozen others unloaded the precious cargo, the heavy urns balanced between a pair of soldiers who hefted and carried and shuffled their way from the helicopter and down the pier to Warehouse 19 with agonizing slowness. Max longed to shove them all aside and just heave the urns out the chopper door onto the pier; hear the clay smash to bits against the concrete and stomp the cracked and leaking shards into dust beneath her boots.

 

Every second’s delay brought White closer to his goal... and left her with the bitter taste of failure in her mouth.

 

It was all for nothing. All of it: the vicious battle here tonight; Sandeman’s mysterious message written on the canvas of her skin; even Manticore itself. None of it mattered. In the end, none of it had done a damn bit of good.

 

She had failed.

 

Ames White was a cruel man, a psychopath and a cold-blooded killer... but he was no megalomaniac. He wasn’t the type to preen and prattle on self-importantly about his evil plot for world domination, thereby conveniently providing the heroes with time and opportunity to thwart said evil plot. No; White wouldn’t wait for her to show at the plant. He was clever and resourceful and far too used to working in the shadows. He would dump the pathogen immediately and save gloating for afterwards.

 

The stars twisted and shimmied as her vision blurred. She was so tired of it all. So very, very tired. She was already on intimate terms with one revved-up super virus; she couldn’t bear to become acquainted with another.

 

Her keen ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps that she easily identified as Alec’s light tread followed by Mole’s heavier one half a step behind. She didn’t turn to face them. She merely listened as Alec handed command over to the lizard and outlined his final orders. The strong, quiet competency conveyed by his voice alternately soothed her ire and seemed to mock her for her own inactivity.

 

“Every urn gets a charge,” Max heard Alec order, “and don’t skimp just because you’re hoping to blow something else up with the extra.” Mole offered his best ‘who me?’ expression. Alec watched him with eyes gone hard as steel – 494’s eyes.

 

“Yeah, yeah... no skimping.” Mole nonchalantly flicked the ash from his cigar. His eyes slid away from the X5’s, however. “I got it.”

 

“I can always get my hands on more C4 Mole,” Alec continued. “It’s not like it’s hard to find. What I can’t get is a second chance at blowing up that stockpile. The fire HAS to be hot enough to incinerate all traces of the pathogen, understood?”

 

“And the bodies,” Mole interjected.

 

“Not our priority,” Alec countered. “If anything survives the fire, DNA testing will prove it’s human. Should give the feds something to think about.” Alec smiled coldly.

 

“Don’ worry, princess,” Mole said cheerily. “We’ll have ourselves a real toasty bonfire. Even brought along a bag of marshmallows for roasting.”

 

Alec looked askance at Mole. “Please tell me you’re not gonna start up a big group sing.”

 

“What do I look like to you,” Mole protested indignantly, “a friggin’ Boy Scout leader?”

 

Alec shuddered. “Only in my nightmares.”

 

Mole grinned evilly. “Just think of the badges I could make the little buggers earn.”

 

“Yeah, the fine art of chain smoking.”

 

“God, Alec!” Max exploded, whirling around and stomping over to join the two friends. Her chest heaved with the effort to contain her anger. “Where the hell’s your brain at? Everything’s just a joke to you, isn’t it? Don’t you take ANYTHING seriously?”

 

“Hell, no. That way leads to a serious bout of martyrdom, an obsession with public service announcements, and the over-application of hair gel.”

 

Max made a strangled noise low in her throat. Alec tilted his head to one side and observed Max for several seconds, then sighed heavily and shook his head in amusement.

 

Max’s brown eyes spat fire at him. “What’s so damn funny?”

 

“You, Maxie. You wind yourself up any tighter and your head will explode. I can practically see the smoke comin’ outta your ears.” He licked his lips. “It’s kinda... sexy.”

 

“Is this you being helpful and sympathetic? Because... don’t.” Self-pity tinged with self-loathing made her sharp.

 

“Maxie, Maxie, Maxie. Would you relax? It’s under control. We’ll kick White’s inbred ass, grab the urn, save the day, and be home in time to get in some serious drinking before dawn.”

 

The comment was carefully worded and delivered with that faintly mocking, irreverent sarcasm calculated to instantly piss Max off. The overwrought girl desperately needed to relieve her frustration before she imploded, so naturally he offered himself up as a willing target. Alec sighed internally and shook his head. ‘ _When did I become her lapdog? Oh right,_ ’ he mentally rolled his eyes, ‘ _about two seconds after she kicked me to the door of her cell and refused to have sex with me._ ’

 

‘ _Insensitive jerk!_ ’ Her pent-up rage demanded something she could target, and here was Alec practically begging for it. She stepped forward, pushing herself into Alec’s personal space until she was breathing his air. Mole discreetly edged backwards, out of range of her fists. Just in case.

 

“Do you not get it? White’s in the clear and he’s got the fucking urn!” she hissed. “How the hell is that ‘under control’?”

 

Over Max’s shoulder, Alec saw the last of the urns unloaded from the chopper. He quickly scanned the crowd and signalled to Reina, Finn, and Joshua. The two solo operatives marched briskly to the waiting helicopter, Joshua at their heels like a well-trained mastiff.

 

Max let out an annoyed huff. “People. Are going. To die.”

 

“Not gonna happen, Max,” Alec said mildly, bringing his attention back to the brunette in front of him. “White’s not walking away from this one.”

 

“No. HE isn’t.” One violently out-flung arm pointed across the harbour to the distant city lights. “Are they?”

 

“There are four sector checkpoints between here and there. We’re faster,” he gestured to the waiting bird with a cocked thumb, “we’ll be in time.”

 

“We have NO idea how big a head start he’s got! We could already be too late.”

 

“Fuck, Max,” Alec swore. “The glass is never half full with you, is it? It’s just completely empty.”

 

“Life gave me crappy lemons,” Max said dismissively. Alec studied her intently, searching for her real thoughts beneath her prickly exterior. Max could feel his gaze but refused to return it, just shrugged and kept her face averted, feeing inexplicably abashed by her pessimism.

 

“Expect nothing,” she whispered into the night, “and you’re not disappointed when that’s exactly what you get.”

 

“Sometimes life surprises you,” Alec replied.

 

“...yeah.” Max agreed reluctantly. She licked her lips nervously. “Sometimes.” Her eyes flicked briefly to his and then she slid away and into the waiting helicopter.

 

‘ _What the fuck was that?_ ’ Frustrated, Alec raked long fingers through his hair and blew out a stream of air through pursed lips before turning to face Syl. The blonde had been waiting on the edge of his peripheral vision for several minutes now; sufficiently far back so as not to intrude on his conversation with Max but just enough into his line of sight to alert him to her presence.

 

“Hey.” Syl smiled. Dried blood trailed down the side of her face from a vicious-looking cut on her right temple. “Hit White for me, would ya?” she asked perkily. “I’d ask that you make it hurt but... kinda pointless,” she smiled wryly, “so I’ll settle for a bruise.”

 

Alec arched one eyebrow and stared at the blonde. “Feelin’ a tad bloodthirsty, are we?”

 

‘ _He jumped me. He took me down easy and I didn’t even see it coming. X5s are NOT s’posed to go down with one punch. Fuck._ ’ Syl shrugged and said aloud, “He got blood on my new shirt.” She gestured indignantly at the small scarlet stain on the collar. “Bastard.”

 

“Sartorial sabotage... a true sign of evil,” Alec agreed solemnly.

 

The Black Hawk’s engines coughed to life, kicking up grit and salt water into the air as the rotor blades began to rotate.

 

Looking at Alec, Syl could see the knowledge of what she’d left unsaid in his clear hazel eyes. “Don’t suppose I could come with?” she asked slightly wistfully, raising her voice to be heard over the engines, “Get a little payback of my own?”

 

“‘Fraid you’re at the bottom of a very long list. But I’ll tell you what I will do...” Grinning, Alec flung an arm around Syl’s shoulders. Dipping his head, he brought his mouth down to her ear as if to impart a great secret and whispered, “...next nut job to come along with a doomsday cult and an idiotic plan to take over the world... he’s all yours.”

 

Syl smiled sourly. “Thanks ever so.”

 

“I’m a generous guy.”

 

“Alec, move your ass!” Max screeched loudly from the open chopper door. She tossed an irritated glare his way and another at Syl before retreating back into the dim interior.

 

“Better go before she threatens to kick it,” Syl said and elbowed him in the ribs.

 

“But that’s half the fun.” Alec gave her a wink and sauntered over to the chopper and hopped lightly inside. Mole joined him there, one shoulder propped casually against the outside of the metal doorframe.

 

“So,” he drawled, staring idly at the burning tip of his cigar before flicking his eyes up to meet Alec’s, “do ya think you could actually manage to kill the fucker this time?” The confidence in Mole’s yellow eyes as he looked at Alec belied the mockery in his words.

 

Alec’s lips curled into a smile. “Anything for you, pookie.” Turning away, he dropped into a jump seat and strapped himself into the chest harness.

 

Mole nodded sharply. Stepping back, he thumped the side of the chopper. Mick hauled back on the collective, and the rumble of the engines changed pitch as the Black Hawk lurched airborne.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The straps of Max’s chest harness dug painfully into her ribs as she leaned out the chopper’s open cargo door, straining to see the ground as it rushed by beneath her in a blur of light and shadow. The cold night air buffeted her slender form, whipping her long dark hair into a maelstrom around her face. She could feel the vibrations from the engines in her bones, like a second heartbeat. Sensing the weight of Alec’s eyes on her, she turned her head to glance at him over the curve of one shoulder.

 

He grinned broadly, knowing the rush to be had from hanging halfway out a moving chopper in the dead of night, tethered only by a thin strap. She grinned back, but her pleasant mood was too amorphous to hold and quickly faded. “This isn’t going to work,” she muttered. Her voice was lost beneath the thump of the rotor blades.

 

Alec stretched one arm out and tapped the comm link tucked in her ear, his other hand going to his own earpiece. Max scowled but opened a channel. “This is stupid. It isn’t going to work,” she repeated. “White’s gonna hear us coming. Chopper’s not exactly quiet.”

 

“He already knows we’re coming after him. It’s what you do.” Alec shrugged. “‘Sides, with no tactical advantage to be gained by stealth, logic dictates a hard and fast insertion.”

 

Max arched one delicate eyebrow. “And this would be what... the ‘Bull Rush Method of Combat Engagement’?”

 

“Don’t knock it, Maxie,” Alec chided. “Blunt force trauma is crude and unprofessional, but it gets the job done.”

 

“Whatever,” Max shrugged, “so long as it’s lethal.”

 

“Ohh, I can do lethal,” Alec drawled.

 

And he could, now that she had lifted her ban on killing humans; or, at the very least, humans intent on murdering them and theirs and destroying the world.

 

Alec’s lips were stretched in a hungry smile that Max knew was reflected on her own face; two inhuman predators about to run their quarry to the ground.

 

She glanced past Alec to the interior of the chopper at the remainder of her team. Three pairs of eyes met hers expectantly. Something deep inside her loosened its grip and broke free. This wasn’t a full-scale military assault on an enemy stronghold; this was barging in unannounced to kick some ass and do a little thieving. Tactics like this she could handle, easily.

 

“Alright people, listen up,” she barked. “The hunt’s on. We hit the ground running. Sweep the interior and take out anyone that gets in our way. We got zero margin for error tonight.”

 

Alec licked his lips and grinned in satisfaction. This was the Max he knew and adored – strong, confident, ready to kick ass and take no prisoners.

 

Beautiful. Deadly. Sexy as hell.

 

He slouched in his seat, stretching out his long legs and crossing them negligently at the ankle, and let 494 recede into his subconscious, content to relinquish command and let Max handle things in her own indomitable way.

 

“White and his goons’ll have the high ground,” Max said grimly. “We take it. I want him with his back to the wall for a change.”

 

“Try smiling,” Alec suggested. Off Max’s glare, he shrugged. “What? It’s scary.”

 

Max stretched her lips in a parody of a smile. “Alec, sweetie,” she cooed sarcastically.

 

“See that? Right there?” Alec said, pointing at Max, his hazel eyes twinkling devilishly. “Scary.”

 

Max’s smile morphed into a glower. “Shut up, pretty boy.”

 

“I’m just saying.”

 

Max reached across the intervening space and cuffed Alec on the side of the head, but not nearly as hard as she used to in the not-so-distant past. “Could you keep your mind on the Job for two seconds at a time or is that too much to ask?”

 

“I was helping,” Alec protested in an injured voice, one hand over his heart.

 

“Don’t make me hurt you,” Max growled, her eyes narrowed. She forcibly kept her gaze locked on his stormy green eyes and off his mouth, knowing his full bottom lip would be pushed forward in the most delicious pout. She wanted nothing more than to lean over and taste it.

 

Alec watched, entranced, as her breathing turned rapid and shallow, her pupils dilated – completely engulfing the chocolate brown irises – and her skin flushed a faint rosy hue from her sharp collarbones to her cheeks. Max was never more beautiful to him than when she was angry; caught up in her storm of her emotions, she was vibrant and alive and unfettered.

 

Biting back a gleeful grin, he hastily arranged his features in a wide-eyed, innocent expression and said with a magnanimous wave of his hand, “I’m all ears, Maxie.”

 

“Gee, thanks Alec.” Max smiled insincerely and muttered under her breath, “Smart ass.” Alec grinned cheekily. Max rolled her eyes, but she had to work hard to keep from smiling at the scoundrel. With a shake of her head, she forced her mind to focus.

 

“Alright, this is how we’re gonna play it. Finn, find the system control room, shut down the pumps. If we’re too late and White’s already dumped the virus, at the very least we can slow down the dispersal rate.

 

“Big Fella, you and Reina take sweep. Alec and I have point. Take down any guards you come up against, but leave White to us.” They nodded. Max stared thoughtfully at Joshua for several seconds while her mind ticked over the options, her deep-seated protective instincts urging her to keep her brother safe. Satisfied, she nodded once to herself.

 

“Joshua, I need you to get that urn,” she ordered. “You find it, you grab it, and you get it the hell outta there... no matter what’s going down. Run it back to the chopper and wait there, ok? It’s too important to risk. I’m counting on you to keep it safe.” Max locked gazes with Joshua, a stern expression on her face, determined to spare him from tangling with White again. Joshua nodded solemnly, pleased by the responsibility.

 

Max turned her gaze to the cockpit and the arrogant X5 piloting the chopper. “Mick, guard the bird, wait for Josh. If company comes calling, displace but do NOT relinquish control of the bird. Take Josh and the urn and fly for home. The rest of us will find our own way back.” Mick grunted acknowledgement. Satisfied that her most conspicuous, and therefore most vulnerable, team member would have a clear line of retreat, Max turned back to face her squad. “Any questions?”

 

“Josh, you packin’?” Alec asked quietly. He kept his eyes on his friend, ignoring Max’s frown.

 

“Uhh...” Joshua looked down at his empty hands and then at Alec, “...no.”

 

Alec pulled his HK 9-mm submachine gun from its harness and handed it to his friend, butt end first, leaving him with only his favoured Glock. Joshua took the HK solemnly, handling the piece with practiced ease born of Mole’s diligent, though somewhat caustic, tutelage. Max averted her gaze, disturbed that her gentle friend was so comfortable with the instruments of death.

 

Joshua popped the clip and then smoothly slid it back home. Alec smiled fondly. Joshua met his gaze evenly. “Virus bitch going down. That’s the plan.”

 

“That it is,” Alec concurred.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Seattle PD hoverdrone A-1163 approached the municipal water treatment plant from the south east. It passed low over the chain link security fence, pausing briefly to photograph the crumpled metal gates; the extent of the damage indicated the fence was hit by a vehicle moving at high velocity. The hoverdrone then proceeded onwards to the facility, where it took multiple photos of the grey sedan left abandoned outside the main doors before transmitting the data to the central computer for analysis.

 

It had just increased altitude in preparation for resuming its pre-programmed flight pattern when internal sensors registered incoming air traffic. Martial law –- derived from 9/11 homeland security measures that were extended and imposed during the post-Pulse riots and never rescinded –- prohibited all non-essential or non-emergency flights from passing within 75 meters of vulnerable locations, of which the city water supply was most definitely one. It sent an alert to headquarters, as programmed.

 

The hoverdrone diligently documented the scene -– including the ident tags on the helicopter’s underbelly –- as the Black Hawk hovered 21.3 feet above ground level and discharged fivepassengers, each of whom leapt directly to the parking lot without benefit of safety harness or lead ropes and vanished into the interior of the building.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The walls were painted a dull, institutional white. Huge steam pipes lined the ceiling, also painted white. The floor was a dirty grey concrete. The only splash of colour was the bloodstain that streaked down one wall and onto the floor. It glistened wetly, a brilliant neon crimson in the wavering florescent light.

 

The body of the night watchman laid slumped half on the floor, half against the wall, limbs sprawled awkwardly like a mannequin with its strings severed. He’d been shot at close range by a high calibre weapon, leaving a fist-sized cavity in his chest where his heart should be. Bone shards poked through the raw edges of the wound.

 

Max turned away, grateful that the man was on his back, grateful that she couldn’t see the larger, messier exit wound. It never got easier; not for her; not when it came to guns.

 

Every dead gunshot victim wore Eva’s face.

 

Alec crouched by the body, careful to position his boots outside the puddle of blood, and checked the guard’s pulse. It was an empty gesture; they could all smell the faint scent of death on the air. It tasted of iron filings and the subtle sour tang of encroaching corruption. Alec passed his hand over the man’s face, gently closing the wide staring eyes.

 

Joshua growled low in his throat. “White,” he snarled, baring his canines. “White killed guard. Just like White killed Annie. Because he could.”

 

“Yep,” Alec agreed, unconsciously wiping his hands clean on his pants. “The guy gives rabid psychopaths a bad name.”

 

“So let’s put him down,” Max said.

 

She gingerly bypassed the body and scurried down the corridor in point position with Alec half a step behind. Reina and Joshua took up flanking positions. Finn brought up the rear for several meters before taking a side corridor and vanishing behind a door marked ‘Electrical Systems’.

 

 

~*~

 

 

A piercing, incessant ringing pulled Detective Ramon Clemente from the depths of a sound sleep. One long, muscular arm snaked its way out of the tangle of blankets and flailed around the bedside table before snatching up the offending phone.

 

“H’lo?” he grunted inarticulately.

 

The voice on the other end identified itself as the night dispatcher from Sector 6 precinct and quickly launched into a muddled story involving hoverdrones, a Black Hawk, and a suspected attack on the city water supply, of which Clemente caught barely one word in three. Blinking owlishly, he slid up the mattress and propped himself more or less upright against the headboard and willed his sleep-fogged mind to clear.

 

“Whoa, slow down, son. Now let me get this straight... A hoverdrone just spotted a military helicopter parked on the roof of the municipal water treatment plant.”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“So why call me? Why the devil aren’t you rousting the S.W.A.T. team?”

 

<“Well, because, um, it’s...” the young officer stammered, “...it’s the transgenics.”

 

Clemente jolted upright, now fully awake. “You have a witness?”

 

“Well no, but... who else could it be?”

 

Clemente repressed a sigh. ‘ _Think about it for half a second,_ ’ he thought waspishly, pinching the bridge of his nose, ‘ _How ‘bout the military...? Spooks...? Any terrorist cell or crime syndicate with enough cash on hand to buy a Black Hawk and a squad of mercenaries...?_ ’

 

“Sir?” The young officer interrupted Clemente’s train of thought. “Your name was on the duty roster.” He sounded perplexed.

 

This time, Clemente couldn’t repress the sigh as his mind drifted back to the day after the hostage taking at Jam Pony, three months prior.

 

_Police Chief Lucas Price was ensconced behind an imposing wooden desk. Early morning sunlight streamed in from the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a panoramic view of downtown Seattle. The lushly furnished office was calculated to convey power and upward mobility, much like its owner. Chief Price was a political animal, long since divorced from the day to day business of policing Seattle’s streets. It was common knowledge he had his sights set on the mayoralty. Clemente felt the beginnings of headache pounding behind his eyes. He knew how this meeting would end; with a subtle yet nonetheless real threat to his job security if he failed to make the chief look good to the media._

_“I just got off the phone with Colonel Baker,” Price said, “the man in charge of the military operation currently occupying our fair city. It is official – Terminal City is deserted. You turned those dangerous criminals loose on the populace.”_

_“Sir!”_ _Clemente bristled at the unfair accusation and braced himself for yet another futile explanation of how the transgenics had kept to their end of the deal, had refrained from turning the situation into a bloodbath despite provocation, including the death of one of their own. Chief Price cut him off before he got more than half a dozen words out._

_“Yes, yes,” he said impatiently, “we all know how impressed you were by the transgenics. I had thought you were smarter than that, not to get taken in by them, but apparently...” He trailed off, giving his head a rueful shake. It gave him the appearance of a reasonable man disappointed by unforeseen circumstances.  The gesture, though perfectly executed, rang false; Clemente would bet good money he’d practiced it in the mirror._

_“Well, we all make mistakes,” Price continued, “and that’s one mistake you won’t repeat, isn’t that right, Clemente?” His polite smile didn’t touch his cold grey eyes. “The media was... impressed... by how well you handled the crisis.” His bland tone conveyed just how much he disagreed with that assessment. “So I’m assigning you responsibility for dealing with the freaks. But I’m warning you Clemente, and I’ll only say this once... if one of those freaks steps foot in my city again, I expect an arrest or a body in the morgue. Is that clear?”_

_“Crystal,” Clemente forced out past clenched teeth._

 

Clemente pulled his mind back to the present with effort. “I’m on my way. Send all available cruisers and call in the S.W.A.T. team. And tell our boys NO ONE goes in without my authorization.”

 

Replacing the handset in its cradle, Clemente spared a glance at his sleeping wife. She was a striking woman, with delicate features and skin the colour of coffee with too much cream. Her long hair was spread across the pillow, a dark smudge against the crisp white cotton sheets. He tenderly brushed a lock from her face.

 

She stirred at his touch, blinking slowly up at him. “Be careful, baby,” she murmured sleepily and snuggled deeper into the warm cocoon of the covers. Her breathing evened out almost immediately.

 

Clemente let his hand fall away. He still remembered their newlywed days, just after the Pulse, when she would cling to his hand and beg him not to answer the late night phone calls, not to go out into the rioting streets. But now... now she was a proper copper’s wife and barely kicked up a fuss.

 

With another heavy sigh, Clemente left his warm bed and his sleeping wife, and reached for his pants.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The four black-clad Manticorians moved like shadows through the antiseptic white corridors. Joshua abruptly quickened his pace and moved up next to Max and laid his hand on her arm just above the elbow; his large hand completely encircled her slender arm. She glanced at him, a question in her eyes, but obediently halted. Three meters from their position was a pair of open double-wide metal doors. Joshua sniffed the air.

 

“What? What is it, Big Fella?” Max asked in an eager whisper.

 

Alec snickered. “Is Timmy down the well, Lassie?” he joked in a falsetto voice.

 

Max glared at Alec and kicked him in the shin.

 

“Ow!” Alec rubbed his abused leg, his lower lip jutting out in an indignant pout. “What the hell was that for?”

 

“You’re a moron,” she hissed.

 

“Yeah.” Alec lifted one shoulder in an easy shrug and flashed Max an unrepentant grin.

 

Max had to work hard to keep back an answering smile. She hadn’t felt this light-hearted on a mission since the horrible day Biggs died. She and Alec quipped and snipped exactly like this every other time they’d gone up against White... and they’d foiled his plans every single time. She’d missed feeling this way. Still, she felt obligated to toss an admonishing glare in Alec’s direction before she turned her attention back to Joshua. “We got company?”

 

“Familiars and...” Joshua growled softly, baring sharp canine teeth, “...White.”

 

“How many guards?” Max whispered. She sniffed the air too, but even her enhanced X5 senses were no match for Joshua’s keen sense of smell.

 

Joshua sniffed the air again. “Two.”

 

Max smiled grimly. “Let’s not keep ‘em waiting.”

 

Joshua and Reina crept forward on silent feet. At Max’s signal, they blurred around the corner and through the doors. Two burly Familiars were half-crouched in the corners behind the doors, guns drawn. They never had the chance to fire. Despite the fact they were prepped for attack, they still found themselves caught off-guard by the speed at which their adversaries moved.

 

Joshua pounced on his target and tossed him bodily into the nearest wall. The Familiar’s head connected with a dull thunk. Latching onto the front of the man’s uniform, Joshua hoisted him into the air and shook him like a chew toy, hard enough to make his teeth rattle. Dazed, the Familiar’s semi-automatic assault rifle slipped from his hands and clattered to the floor.

 

Reina dived low and tackled her target around the waist. His rifle went flying as he crashed to the ground. He planted his knee in Reina’s stomach and flipped her up and over his head. Reina maintained her grip and reversed their positions, using her momentum to roll them both butt over brains. She came out on top and pinned his arms to the floor with her knees. She hauled back and punched him hard in the face, breaking his nose.

 

Max blurred through the doors and down the hall with Alec a mere half-pace behind her. The corridor ended in a metal staircase that led onto an open observation deck; Max presumed it overlooked the tank itself. She charged full bore up the stairs only to come to a dead stop on the last riser. Alec collided with her back.

 

White was waiting on the far side of the mezzanine with his government-issue pistol trained on the two transgenics. He held it easily; arm fully extended, hand firm and steady. The urn rested on the floor at his feet, stopper thankfully still in place. Max was giddy with relief at the sight of it. Hysterical laughter pushed up the back of her throat, and she only just managed to choke it off before it burst out in an undignified snort.

 

“You lost your weapon, 452,” White sneered.

 

Max flipped her hair over her shoulders with a defiant toss of her head and raised her fists. “Haven’t you heard? I AM a weapon.”

 

“Plus, I still got mine.” Alec smirked. Like magic Alec’s Glock was out and pointed at White’s head before the Familiar saw his hand move.

 

White scowled heavily. “You think you’re walking away from this, 452?”

 

“Oh give it up already!” Max huffed impatiently, really not in the mood for a Mexican standoff. “Two-to-one odds say you’re gonna lose, brain trust.”

 

Sneering, White opened fire on the two X5s. Reacting instantly, Max launched herself at White, blurring across the intervening space in a zigzag pattern while Alec dropped to a crouch on the stairs. All shots save one went wild and buried themselves deep in the concrete walls. One bullet ricocheted off a metal pipe and creased Alec’s left arm, shearing through his sleeve and raising an angry red welt. Alec glared at his wounded arm; the same arm where he’d been shot only 24 hours earlier. It throbbed painfully. Pissed, he turned his glare heavenward. ‘ _Enough already!_ _I get the fucking point!!_ ’

 

As the hammer clicked on empty, Max slid into a crescent kick that knocked the gun from White’s grip. It skittered the length of the mezzanine and came to a halt against the far wall. She transferred her weight with a little hop and moved into a roundhouse kick. White leaned backwards to avoid Max’s foot as it whipped up and around on the backswing. He retaliated with a straight punch to her lower back before her balance was firm. Max staggered but spun around in time to block a punch aimed at her head. Slipping under his guard, she slammed her off-hand into White’s ribs.

 

Cursing under his breath, Alec holstered his useless weapon. Expert marksman though he was, he refused to risk a shot with Max between him and his target.

 

“I’m gonna enjoy killing you, bitch,” White spat out angrily and loosed a backhanded punch at her head. “But first, I think I’ll make you watch as I kill your boy toy.”

 

 “Well that wins the prize for least original death threat ever,” Max quipped. Ducking under the arc of White’s swing, she popped back up and drilled an underhand punch to his diaphragm. He exhaled with an audible whoosh, but the blow failed to slow him down any.

 

“I’ve heard better threats from strung-out skeeze bag tramps,” Alec agreed as he manoeuvred around the edge of the fight and into position at White’s back.

 

White straightened and countered with a strong punch to the stomach. Max gasped and doubled over his fist. White chopped at Max’s throat. She arched her spine and hopped backwards awkwardly to avoid the blow. Spotting his opening, Alec stepped in and kicked the side of White’s knee, causing the Familiar’s leg to buckle beneath him. White went down under the blow, despite the lack of pain. Max took advantage of his new position to kick him hard in the ribs with her steel-toed combat boots. She smiled in satisfaction when she heard something crack.

 

White rolled clear of the transgenics and surged to his feet. “Talk is cheap,” he hissed. He slowly edged backwards until the rear wall was at his back, thus preventing the X5s from pinning him between them. They advanced, coming at White from oblique angles. His eyes flicked back and forth between them, measuring and assessing.

 

Max was the first to break the impasse. She blurred forward, aiming a wickedly fast strike at White’s head. It opened a cut on his cheekbone. He absorbed the blow and countered with a right hook and then slid sideways out of arm’s reach before Alec could close in from the rear. Max pursued the Familiar, feinting to the left and throwing a straight punch to his head with her right. White ignored the pain as the hit connected with his eye and brought both arms up and boxed Max on her ears. She staggered backwards, shaking her head to clear the ringing in her ears. White spun around and caught a right hook from Alec that rocked his head back. Pressing his advantage, Alec stepped in under White’s guard and nailed him with a vicious uppercut. White let it drop him to the floor into a sideways roll that brought him back to his feet.

 

Max launched into a snap kick that caught White under the chin. Alec came in low and fast on the side and punched White hard in the kidneys. White shook off both blows. Dancing to the side to avoid Max, he hit Alec with a backhanded punch and followed through with an uppercut. Alec collapsed into a backward somersault to escape. He rolled to his feet, bouncing lightly on his toes.

 

Max struck at White’s temple with a roundhouse kick. White intercepted the kick and grabbed her leg at the ankle. “You’re nothing but a soulless, test tube freak,” White taunted, holding her off-balance. He slammed his elbow against her knee.

 

“You’re the one with ‘inbred’ tattooed on his ass,” Max retorted. She dropped to her hands and pivoted around her captive leg, nailing White in the side of the head with her free foot. He allowed the kick to land. Blood dripped from a shallow cut on his temple. Shifting his grip higher on her leg, he hefted her off the ground, swung her in an arc and tossed her across the width of the mezzanine. Max collided heavily with the rear wall and crumpled into an untidy heap on the floor.

 

Alec growled dangerously. He blurred forward and hammered his cocked elbow into White’s jaw, splitting his lower lip open. White spun with the impact and retaliated with a backhanded swing. Dropping to all fours, Alec swept his leg out and knocked White’s feet out from under him. White quickly rolled to the side and regained his footing. The two men circled warily, searching for an opening or a weakness in the other’s defences.

 

“You think you can beat me, 494?” White taunted. “You really think a little recombinant DNA makes you a match for 5,000 years of selective breeding? You’re not even human. You’re just a filthy animal controlled by its baser instincts.”

 

White went on the offensive, attacking with several swift punches and jabs aimed at Alec’s head and chest. Alec parried most of the blows, but one caught him on his wounded side, just below his right ribs. He grunted as pain flared up his side and staggered backwards out of arm’s reach. White smiled viciously.

 

“MY baser instincts?” Alec laughed in disbelief. “You’re the one getting off on this.” He feinted a chop to the throat and then drilled White in the side with a straight punch, aiming for the same spot Max had slammed her boot into earlier. He felt something give under his fist, and grinned in satisfaction. His punches might not cause the Familiar pain, but he was damaged all the same.

 

White panted, but the unholy glee in his eyes remained undiminished. “But killing you freaks is so satisfying,” he purred. He launched into a spinning kick aimed at Alec’s temple. Alec ducked under the swing, and White’s leg whistled harmlessly over his head. He responded with a side kick to White’s exposed side, knocking the Familiar off-balance. White quickly recovered and slid into a roundhouse punch that rocked the X5 on his feet.

 

Max stared groggily at the four pairs of legs dancing on the wall in complete disregard for the law of gravity. ‘ _Huh?_ ’ She blinked rapidly several times to clear her vision and the fuzzy image obligingly solidified into Alec and White fighting near the railing. The world wasn’t tipped on its side; she was. Max pulled her legs under her and stood, groaning aloud as the sudden movement aggravated her pounding headache.

 

Alec’s gaze instinctively flicked to Max at the sound. It was a mistake. White took advantage of Alec’s split-second of inattention and landed a side kick to the stomach that knocked the transgenic back several feet into the railing. Stepping in under Alec’s guard, White grabbed Alec’s uninjured right arm at the wrist and twisted, rotating the arm down and inwards, immobilizing the entire arm. With his free hand, he gripped Alec’s neck under the chin and forced him backwards against the railing.

 

Alec abruptly found himself pinned between White and the railing. He silently cursed himself –- and Max for good measure. He knew better than to let himself get distracted during a fight, especially against an opponent as dangerous as White. He braced his twice-wounded left arm against White’s chest but couldn’t get the leverage necessary to shove the Familiar off entirely. He settled for goading White.

 

“You need a new gene pool to splash around in, Amsey. Inbreeding leads to all sorts of nasty congenital defects. Like insanity.”

 

“And gene splicing doesn’t?” White countered. He tightened his grip on Alec’s skull, fingers and thumb digging painfully into his jaw.

 

“I know all about your insane twin 493,” White continued, his voice low and hypnotic. “How he turned psychotic and went on a killing spree.” He smiled slyly. “Schizophrenia is genetic, 494. How long do you think you’ll last before you end up. Just. Like. Him?”

 

“I’m NOTHING like Ben,” Alec insisted, glaring defiance at the Familiar. He ignored the mounting pain in his jaw as the Familiar squeezed his skull. “I don’t kill for pleasure. Just business.”

 

Max growled low in her throat and moved to intercept White, only to stumble when the floor lurched beneath her unsteady feet. She pressed a shaking hand to the back of her skull; it came away wet and sticky with blood. She swayed dizzily. She shook her head to clear it and fought back a rising tide of nausea; even a Manticore X5 could only take so many blows to the head in one night.

 

Knowing Alec could handle himself, despite current appearances to the contrary, Max spent precious seconds scanning the mezzanine for a weapon. Her search came up empty. Briefly she contemplated ripping out a section of the railing and using that to beat White senseless.

 

“So killing me won’t bring you pleasure?” White asked genially. “You lie, 494.”

 

“You I’ll gladly make an exception for.”

 

“You won’t get the chance,” White hissed. His eyes glittered with a chilling, maniacal hunger. Exerting his full strength, White forced Alec’s head back and down, fully intending to bend the X5 over the metal railing until his spine snapped.

 

The railing dug into Alec’s lower back. His wounded arm was starting to tremble from the strain of holding him off. The Familiar was stronger and better trained than Alec had anticipated and pain was not a deterrent to his actions. But despite his impressive pedigree, Ames White was still human, with most of the human body’s physical limitations. Alec smiled coldly. The slight nervous tightening around White’s eyes and mouth in response deepened the smile.

 

“You’re forgetting Ames,” Alec said calmly, “Manticore made me an assassin. And the first rule of assassination -– all that matters is the kill.”

 

Alec curled the fingers of his left hand around the lapels of White’s blue-grey trench coat. Arching his back, he pushed off with both legs, launching himself and White over the railing and off the observation deck into empty, insubstantial air.

 

From across the width of the mezzanine, Max could only watch, horrified and too far away to interfere, as both Alec and White tumbled over the railing and plunged into the tank below.

 

They hit the water hard. It closed over their heads, instantly muffling all sound and locking the two men away in their own private universe. Shock loosened White’s grip on Alec. The X5 swiftly wrapped both arms around his prey and held fast. The water was cold -– tiny sharp blades stabbing into vulnerable flesh -– but not nearly as cold as the tank at Manticore. Alec grinned.

 

Max was at the railing and staring down into the tank without being consciously aware that she’d even moved. Her tense grip on the railing made the metal creak in protest; the only outward sign of her anxiety at being sidelined while her lover gambled his life on his greater lung capacity. ‘ _Alec’s X5._ _He won’t drown._ ’ Her heart hammered in her chest like a wild thing. ‘ _He won’t drown. He won’t._ ’

 

They sank like stones into the quiet depths of the tank, pulled down by momentum and the drag of their clothing. White fought for his life. He twisted and writhed in Alec’s grip, but the transgenic’s hands were locked behind him; immovable bands that held White pinioned like the proverbial fly in the spider’s web. He pushed against Alec’s chest with both hands but couldn’t gain the leverage necessary to break Alec’s hold.

 

Unable to free his arms, White next tried to head-butt Alec, but the density of the water rendered the attempt sluggish and ineffective and he barely felt the jolt when their skulls connected. Worse still, Alec didn’t even flinch at the blow despite his lower pain threshold. Cursing, White fought harder, kicking out with both legs and making the water churn around them, trying to force them back up to the surface. He knew with chilling finality that he couldn’t outlast the X5 on this particular battleground; the transgenic’s unique genetic heritage made certain of that.

 

‘ _Shit. Why the fuck didn’t we breed for endurance?’_  White wondered bitterly as his lungs burned with the need for oxygen. Spots danced in his vision and his body vibrated with the jolt of adrenaline rushing through his system. He tasted bile in the back of his throat, and the unfamiliar tang of fear.

 

He was going to die.

 

Alec grit his teeth against the pain in his sore ribs and arm brought on White’s increasingly frantic struggles but maintained his hold. The desperate Familiar wriggled like one of his cult’s sacred snakes, twisted and wrenched and pushed, and still Alec held on. Eventually White’s struggles slowed, became weaker, and then ceased altogether. One last bubble of air escaped his lips before his eyes rolled into the back of his skull, exposing the whites. They shone like twin lamps in the dim light, a ghastly fishbelly white.

 

Alec mentally counted down from sixty, determined to be as thorough and ruthless in this kill as his training had made him. White remained motionless in his grasp; arms dangling limply at his side, head lolled back, mouth slack and eyes wide and sightless.

 

When Alec’s own lungs began to burn for oxygen and the urge to inhale became imperative, he let go of White’s body and kicked hard for the surface. The Familiar sank under the weight of his water-logged clothing and came to rest on the floor of the tank just as Alec crested the surface and breathed in deep grateful gulps of air.

 

Max gasped aloud when Alec’s sleek head broke the surface of the water, releasing the breath she’d unconsciously been holding since Alec and White plunged off the platform.

 

Alec surveyed the smooth walls of the tank and then tilted his head back to stare at the observation deck hanging 15 feet above his head; an easy jump for an X5, if he were standing on solid ground instead of treading water. Max was leaning precariously over the railing, her long hair forming a dark cloud around her pale face. The worry and relief in her eyes tasted unbelievably sweet to Alec.

 

“Uh Maxie,” he called, pitching his voice low to keep it steady, “a little help here would be nice. Considering I just took a dive to save the world and all.”

 

Max grimaced at the lame pun but dutifully moved to a control panel tucked against the railing at the far corner of the deck and lowered the plumb line. The antiquated winch groaned under Alec’s weight but held, and Alec swiftly hauled himself hand over hand up the cable and onto the mezzanine.

 

Max stared blankly at Alec’s dripping form. His wet turtleneck clung to his body like a second skin, highlighting every curve and dip of his muscular chest. Water dripped from his hair, and she was transfixed as the tiny droplets slowly traced the planes of his face. In that moment, she couldn’t decide whether to kill him or kiss him.

 

Alec caught the anger brewing in Max’s chocolate irises. Carefully, he shifted his stance so his weight was evenly balanced on the balls of his feet and readied himself to fend off any blows she might send his way. His defensive posture was not lost on Max.

 

“Alec, what...? You could’ve been... What the fuck?!” Max yelled, suddenly red-faced and furious with her fellow X5.

 

Alec blinked. “Wha-”

 

“Why do I waste my time talking to you?” Max railed, hands firmly planted on her hips in her trademarked stance. “You NEVER listen. I tell you ‘no stupid heroics’ and what’s the first thing you do? Take a header into the tank and almost drown yourself! What the hell were you thinking?!”

 

“Complete the mission objective?” Alec offered flippantly.

 

“You could’ve been killed!”

 

“Riiight,” Alec drawled and rolled his eyes, “because I didn’t learn a thing from all those swimming lessons Manticore signed me up for as a kid.” Alec unconsciously retreated backwards one step and then another, widening the distance –- both figurative and literal -– between himself and Max. ‘ _Stop White from destroying the friggin’ world and she STILL thinks I’m a screw up. Fuck. Would it the kill the girl to admit I can handle myself in a fight? That I did good for once?_ ’

 

The memories of the tank stopped Max cold. She hated to think of him there; hated imagining what Manticore had done to him while she was out free in the world. And she knew, she KNEW, that whatever punishments her imagination could conjure would pale next to the reality he’d been subjected to for those 11 years.

 

An uncomfortable silence descended. It stretched for less than half a minute that felt like an eternity to the two transgenics, until it was broken by the harsh wail of approaching sirens. Alec grinned in relief.

 

“Saved by the bell. Siren. Whatever. Kick my ass later, Maxie. We gotta displace.”

 

But Max was no longer looking at him; her gaze had been inextricably drawn from Alec to the tank and the body floating in its depths. ‘ _White’s dead. It’s over._ ’ Those two thoughts careened around inside her head like a hyperactive toddler on a sugar high. ‘ _Mission_ _accomplished._ ’

 

“Max, we gotta displace,” Alec repeated. “Escape and evade.”

 

‘ _Exposure,_ ’ her brain warned as she continued to stare transfixed at White’s corpse. She moved to swing her leg over the railing, fully intending to dive into the tank and retrieve the body. Alec’s hand on her arm stopped her mid-motion.

 

“Forget him, Max. There’s no time. We gotta go.”

 

“Alec, we can’t just leave him here for the cops to find!” Max protested, not moving from her position at the railing.

 

“Uh, yeah we can,” Alec argued. He tightened his grip around Max’s bicep and tugged, but the stubborn brunette refused to budge. “Max!” he said in exasperation, “the only thing worse than rushing a police barricade wearing night fatigues and packin’ is rushing a police barricade wearing night fatigues and packin’ and carrying a dead body. Can you say ‘conspicuous’?”

 

Max shook off his hold. “Can you say ‘murder victim’...‘crime scene’...‘forensic evidence’...?”

 

“He drowned. With any luck the coroner will rule it death by misadventure.”

 

Max snorted. “Yeah, and the military helicopter on the roof makes that sooo likely.”

 

“It’s still got NSA ident tags.”

 

“Don’t be dumb.”

 

“No, dumb would be waiting here for the cops to shoot us on sight.”

 

Max abruptly stepped back from the railing and glanced wildly around the platform. “The urn!”

 

“Josh already booked with it.”

 

“Finn and Reina -”

 

“- know better than hang around here. Now c’mon!” Alec reached for Max again.

 

“Deck was right,” Max said cryptically, sparing one final glance at the body in the tank before she turned and ran for the stairs, leaving a startled Alec two steps behind. “God, I hate that. I really, really hate that.”

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

Detective Ramon Clemente stepped out of the municipal water treatment plant into the cool night air and breathed deeply to rid his lungs of the taste of blood. It clung to the back of his throat like wet fur, cloyingly sweet and sharp as new pennies. He stared idly at the rain slick pavement with its shallow puddles painted in lurid stripes of red and blue, his hands patting down his coat pockets in a smoker’s compulsive search.

 

‘ _Fuck. What a mess._ ’

 

One dead security guard at the front entrance. Two dead technicians in the system control room. A third technician and a second guard caught in the employee lounge on a smoke break. All five men murdered; shot at close range by a high calibre weapon loaded with hollow point bullets.

 

Two more dead bodies in the north corridor: soldiers in full body armour like the team Agent White brought in at Jam Pony. These men were beaten and bruised; their necks snapped. Semi-automatic rifles lay discarded on the hall floor next to their bodies.

 

And in the tank, the drowned body of Special Agent Ames White.

 

Eight murdered men and no easy answers.

 

Sighing, Clemente finally located his cigarettes. Pulling a thin cylinder from the pack he brought it to his lips and lit it, cupping his hand around the end to shield the lighter from the wind. The planes and hollows of his face were briefly lit by the orange glow before blending back into the night. He inhaled deeply; held that first puff in his lungs and felt the nicotine race along his nerves. Smoking calmed him and helped him focus; gave him the chance to disconnect his brain and let his subconscious roam over the evidence. The solutions to his hardest cases had all come to him through a haze of cigarette smoke.

 

The patrol officers had already proclaimed Agent White a hero and this a failed terrorist attack perpetrated by the transgenics. As for himself, Detective Clemente would wager a week’s pay that the plant crew had been shot and killed by the very guns left lying in the north corridor. The money question was: who pulled the trigger? White’s men... or the mysterious figures in black?

 

He moved away from the front entrance and the cops milling around the parking lot, intending to walk the outer perimeter of the crime scene as he always did. He studied the building as he walked, searching for an alternate point of entry besides the front door. A blur of movement in the periphery of his field of vision made him snap his head around, and he caught a fleeting glimpse of a slim figure dressed in black before she darted around the corner of the building, her long dark hair streaming out behind her with the speed of her passage.

 

The impulse to call for back up died in his throat before it hit his tongue. She’d be gone before he got the words out, if she was even there at all.

 

Clemente paused for a moment that seemed longer than it actually was, poised halfway between advancing and retreating; one foot pointed towards the shadows and the other turned back the way he came. He thought he heard an impatient sigh and a muttered, “C’mon, c’mon,” but that might have been his imagination.

 

He shouldn’t trust her. She was designed and trained to be a killer. She might have committed murder tonight, or an act of terrorism. Or quite possibly have stopped one. He had no idea.

 

Three months ago Agent White ordered his team to open fire outside Jam Pony. He had obviously considered the hostages acceptable collateral damage. Max hadn’t, despite the fact she’d taken them hostage in the first place. His mind flashed back to the naked honesty in her stare, in that crumbling underground garage at Terminal City.

 

He shouldn’t trust her... but he did. He loosened the safety strap on his gun holster – an ingrained, precautionary gesture – and briskly turned the corner of the building.

 

The shadows lay thick and impenetrable to his human eyes. He pulled his favourite lighter from his pocket – the silver Zippo engraved with the scales of Justice, the one his father had given him the day he’d graduated from the Police Academy at the head of his class. Two figures loomed at him out of the darkness: 452 –- Max -– and a male X5 he remembered from the hostage situation at Jam Pony. Their eyes gathered in the fitful light and reflected it back with a weird yellow glow.

 

There was nothing remotely human about those eyes.

 

Startled, Clemente reared backwards and fumbled at his belt for his gun.

 

“Whoa!” Alec raised his hands, palms out in the universal gesture indicating peaceful intentions. “Don’t go all Dirty Harry on us now.”

 

Clemente released a shaky sigh and tucked his gun back in its holster, and tried to ignore the furious pounding of his heart.

 

Max turned to Alec and questioned in a stage whisper, “Dirty who?” Her forehead wrinkled prettily in confusion.

 

“You’ve got to be kiddin’ me.” Alec stared at her, incredulous, his jaw slack. He took in Max’s puzzled and slightly impatient expression and shook his head. “You really need to watch more TV, Max.”

 

“Whatever.” Max rolled her eyes. “At least I have a life.”

 

“Says who? Dirty Harry is a film icon. S’not like it’s an obscure reference or something. So it just begs the question... what exactly have you been doing with your ‘so called life’?”

 

“At least I’m not rotting my brain out from the inside,” Max retorted, stung. She thought –- and not for the first time -– that it was monstrously unfair that Alec blended into the real world better than she did when she had 12 years of experience on him.

 

Clemente watched in silence as the argument unfolded, fascinated by how well the transgenics had been taught to mimic human interaction.

 

It was mesmerizing. It was better than television.

 

It wasn’t the time.

 

Clemente cleared his throat noisily. The two transgenics ignored him.

 

“Have you even picked up a book since I let you out?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Nuddie mags don’t count, Alec.”

 

“But they make such good bedtime stories,” he leered.

 

“Whatever.” Max flicked her long hair over her shoulder with a toss of her proud head. “You’re a pig.”

 

“And you’ve lost the plot. You’re s’posed to be talking to him,” Alec tilted his head towards the detective, “Not ragging on me about my choice of leisure activity.”

 

Insulted, Max glared daggers at him. “Could you shut it for five minuets so we can get this over with? I wanna go home and take a bath.”

 

“Need me to scrub your back?”

 

“Enough!” Clemente fixed the squabbling transgenics with a stern, thin-lipped stare. “If you two are finished with your little Moonlighting impersonation, I’ve got questions that need answers.”

 

Embarrassed, Max shot a baleful glare at Alec. He laid one hand over his heart. “Ouch.”

 

Clemente raised one hand, palm out, to cut Max off before she could retort. “I have a dead NSA agent inside and the two of you out here. Somehow I very much doubt that’s a coincidence. So talk to me.”

 

“We were just out for a walk, Detective. Honest,” Alec said in his best little-boy voice.

 

“Alec!” Max hissed. “Could you be more annoying?” She shot him an irritated glare. He’d been a royal pain in her ass from the minute she’d insisted they stay behind and contact the detective.

 

His lips curled in a wicked smirk. “Well, if you insist...”

 

“That was NOT an invitation!”

 

“What went down here tonight?” Clemente cut in evenly before the next round could begin.

 

“Someone forgot to wear their Water Wings?” Alec asked ingenuously.

 

“I never said anyone drowned,” Clement noted shrewdly.

 

“Nope. YOU didn’t.” Alec smiled blandly and pointed to a knot of sector police in the background.

 

Across the parking lot, a grizzled veteran –- the kind of corrupt officer who doubled his pay taking kickbacks from people desperate to squat in condemned buildings -– was holding court over a batch of raw-boned, fresh-faced recruits. One meaty hand was curled into the leather gun belt that hung precariously low on his hips beneath a prodigious paunch. In his other hand he held a white Styrofoam coffee cup which he waved around as he talked.

 

“...so he says it’s safe to drink because of the ‘filtration system’.” The last two words were invested with considerable scorn. “Well, fuck that. There’s a dead guy in the tank. No way I’m drinking that shit.” He paused to take a greedy slurp of coffee. “I’m telling ya, never trust a man wearin’ a lab coat. It’s geeks like him that made all those freaks we got runnin’ around now. Goddamn scientists! Messin’ with things God never intended. They oughta be strung up, them and the little mutant freaks.” He shook his head. “Water’s safe, my ass,” he muttered and took another noisy sip of coffee, smacking his lips several times in appreciation.

 

‘ _And where do you think they got the water to brew that coffee? The polar ice caps?_ ’ Clemente thought wryly. He shook his head and turned to face the two transgenics. Amusement glittered in the male’s expressive eyes but he kept his smile off his lips.

 

Clemente sighed. He shouldn’t have expected to catch them out so easily. All the reports claimed the transgenics were extremely intelligent; a trait he knew to be true from firsthand experience: after all, they had waltzed right out of Jam Pony past half a dozen TV news crews, an angry mob, and half of Seattle’s PD.

 

“I need answers and I need them now,” Clemente insisted bluntly. “What went down here tonight? What were you doing here?”

 

Max shrugged. “Our duty.”

 

“Manticore designed us to be soldiers. To defend this country against its enemies. We haven’t forgotten that, even if you have.”

 

Clemente heard the bitterness in the male’s voice even though it was buried deep. ‘ _How many hot zones were they deployed to,_ ’ Clemente found himself wondering in a sudden flash of insight, ‘ _with never a word of commendation?_ ’ He eyed the younger man curiously. “Are you claiming Special Agent Ames White was an ‘enemy of the state’?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“More like an ‘enemy of the people’ actually,” Max added. “All people. Everywhere.”

 

“He had a yen to kill off humanity,” Alec explained. “Ethnic cleansing on a global scale.”

 

“So... you’re claiming White wasn’t human,” Clemente hazarded a guess. “He’s like you.”

 

“Uh, yes and no. See, this is where things turn sci-fi.” Clemente raised an eyebrow. Max back-pedalled. “Not that they weren’t already because... Hello! Human-animal hybrid here but--”

 

“--This facility was the target of a terrorist attack,” Alec cut in smoothly as Max fumbled. “One of twelve across the country. We stopped it. End of story.”

 

“Really,” Clemente said dryly, disbelief etched on his face. “How?”

 

“Water-borne pathogen. It makes Anthrax look like the common cold.”

 

Max’s dark eyes bored into Clemente’s. There were no lies hidden in that desperate stare. Clemente shuddered at the cold frisson of fear that tickled his spine. He was starting to believe, despite himself. He moistened suddenly dry lips. ‘ _If any of this is true... Oh shit!_ ’ “Where is it now?”

 

“Right about now it’s...” Alec checked his watch, “...gone. All burned up. We’d have saved you a sample but that’d just be stupid. Too big a risk it could fall into the wrong hands.”

 

“And what assurance do I have that YOURS aren’t the wrong hands?”

 

“We have sincere eyes?” Alec quipped.

 

“Let’s pretend for just a minute that I’m buying this. Tell me why. Why a respected federal agent without a single black mark on his record would conspire to commit mass murder.”

 

Alec scowled and shrugged. This was a colossal waste of time. The authorities wouldn’t believe them. They couldn’t afford to; not and keep their smug, black-and-white worldview still intact.

 

Max took a deep breath to quell her nerves. ‘ _Damage control,_ ’ she reminded herself.

 

The battle was supposed to be contained at the docks; somewhere isolated and easily cauterized. Only now it was public. Questions would be asked. Blame would be laid. She had to fix this; had to make SOMEONE understand that transgenics weren’t the enemy here.

 

The detective’s eyes were kind. At Jam Pony he had looked at her without hatred or fear. She mentally crossed her fingers. ‘ _Let him listen,_ ’ she prayed to a god she didn’t believe in.

 

“He’s not who you think he is. Or what,” Max said grimly. “White... He’s not your average human. He was part of this whacked out cult that’s been hiding in the shadows for thousands of years. They’re big into selective breeding, trying to breed the perfect human. Think they’re the ‘next stage of human evolution’ or some crap like that.” She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Humans... ordinary, regular humans like you... are just cattle to them, and they wanted this world all to themselves.”

 

“And I’m supposed to... what? Take your word for it? Blindly?” Clemente’s voice dripped with scepticism. “I have a dead government agent inside who just happens to be the man in charge of hunting you down. And now you tell me he’s part of some crazy plot to kill off all the humans and take over the world?”

 

Max’s shoulders sagged. She was unreasonably disappointed in the detective. She refused to look at Alec, not wanting a smug ‘I told you so’ from him. His objections from earlier tonight, as they lay in wait in the shadows, rang in her ears. ‘ _Clemente’s not gonna believe us, Max. Who would? And say you do somehow manage to convince him we’re not blowing smoke up his ass. What’s he gonna do about it? Arrest the cult? We don’t even know for sure who the hell they are, except for the corpses in the warehouse. And somehow I doubt he’ll be happy with us for that one. This kill wasn’t sanctioned by the D.O.D. That makes it murder in the eyes of the law._ ’

 

Why did the smug jerk always have to be right?

 

But she had to try. She couldn’t NOT try. The cult was out there; wounded and gutted, but still there. Waiting. If they didn’t get the truth out now, they would be hunted forever.

 

“We have proof,” she announced firmly. “You’ll get it tomorrow.”

 

Alec gaped in disbelief at Max. Did the girl not understand what a very, very bad idea that was? Sharing Intel with Clemente made him a target whether he believed them or not. Alec opened his mouth to object but she silenced him with a fierce look.

 

Clemente fixed Max with a sceptical stare, weighing every nuance of voice and body and expression. He was damn good at his job. Unlike a lot of his fellow coppers, he listened to the evidence and tried not to jump to conclusions.

 

Right now he was facing the possible murder of a federal agent and the only evidence of foul play was some grainy hoverdrone footage of a military helicopter unloading five shadowy figures dressed in black and some highly suspicious loitering at the scene by the dead man’s sworn enemies. Who just happened to be wearing black.

 

Coincidence? Doubtful.

 

Circumstantial evidence unlikely to hold up in a court of law? Probably.

 

Sufficient proof to incite a lynch mob? Most definitely.

 

He had to tread very carefully here. “So why talk to me? If you’ve really got proof of some kind of terrorist attack on the city water supply, why not take it to the NSA or the CIA?”

 

“The government wants me and mine dead, remember?” Max said acerbically. “They’re not gonna listen to anything we have to say.”

 

“‘Sides,” Alec added, “White was NSA and he tried to kill off humanity tonight.”

 

Clemente massaged his tense neck with one hand. “Maybe... and maybe not. I don’t know. I never trusted White. That’s no secret. But I don’t know if I can trust you either. And who would believe it anyway?” He shrugged helplessly. “I’m sorry, but I need more than your word on this. I’m gonna have to take you both in for questioning.”

 

The two X5s grinned. “Gotta catch us first,” Alec winked. They melted into the shadows and were gone before Clemente could react.

 

“Shit!” he swore softly.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Manticore slept quietly in the moonlight. The facility looked different bathed in that silvery glow; softer somehow, almost inviting. There were no harsh spotlights here anymore; no guards in the towers with their guns trained inwards at the compound. They didn’t need those things now, to keep them ‘safe’.

 

The rubble from the fire had been cleared away and the quad picked ruthlessly clean of weeds. They’d made it habitable again in the few short days since they’d regrouped. Made it their own.

 

Her family slept there. Her friends. Her kind. That made it her home.

 

The irony in that thought left Max breathless.

 

Tilting her head back, she stared up into the predawn sky, at the gleaming moon and the three bright planets strung in a line like beads on a necklace.

 

They were just planets now. No more mystical portents of death. Just three pretty coloured balls of light in the night sky.

 

It was over. They’d kicked White and the breeding cult to the curb. White could never hurt them again. He could never hurt anybody again. Her family was safe. The world was safe.

 

Because of Alec.

 

His battle plan. His kill.

 

Slowly her eyes slid to the side where Alec stood patiently waiting. His clothes were still damp from his impromptu swim; his shirt was plastered against his chest and abs like a second skin and his pants clung to his legs, outlining his thighs and buttocks as he moved. Max could see the bullet graze on his arm courtesy of White through the tear in his sleeve. She shuddered and turned her gaze away from the grim reminder of his mortality; her arms wrapped tightly around her ribs.

 

Alec suppressed a sigh when Max turned away, frustrated that she was still pissed at him for doing his Job. He was cold and damp and tired. His wounded arm throbbed painfully; it hung leadenly by his side, as if he’d fallen asleep on it and cut off the circulation. He wanted a hot shower and his bed, and Max wanted to stand here on this damn hill and admire the view.

 

When she spoke her voice was barely above a whisper. “Drowning White? That was smart. I didn’t think of that. I’d’ve just kept pounding on him till the cops showed up.” Max shrugged. “I thought you were being reckless, but... you knew exactly what you were doing. And you were right. So... thanks. For doing what had to be done. What I... probably couldn’t do.”

 

Alec stared blankly at Max for a minute, not trusting that he heard what he just thought he heard.

 

Max was thanking him. Max was proud of him.

 

Alec closed his eyes. He shivered. Tingling warmth spread outwards from his chest, suffusing his tired limbs; her words a sweet balm to the lost and damaged child inside. He had to fight to keep back the goofy smile that threatened to break out.

 

X5s were rarely praised; the successful completion of mission objectives was expected and therefore not worth commenting on. So to hear the words now, from HER mouth no less, was everything.

 

He had no idea how to respond.

 

Thrown, Alec retreated into his cocky, smart-aleck persona. “Could you repeat that, Maxie? Because I swear I just heard you give me a compliment.” Max rolled her eyes. He pointed his index finger at her and crowed gleefully, “You did! You gave me a compliment!”

 

Max crossed her arms. “It’s no big.”

 

“No big? No big?! You gave me a COMPLIMENT, Maxie. You learned a new skill! I’m so proud of you.” Alec sniffed and wiped away a mock tear.

 

“I’m about to give you a headache, moron.” She cuffed him lightly on the back of the head and started down the slope towards Manticore.

 

Alec bounded after her and caught her in his arms, pulling her flush against his body, and buried his face in her hair. Nuzzling her neck, he breathed in her familiar scent and laid a kiss on her warm skin. “Say it again.”

 

Max smiled indulgently at his antics. She made no move to break his hold on her. “You were right.”

 

“Tell me I did good.”

 

“You did good.” Max wound both arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, relishing the feeling of being cradled by his arms. Arms strong enough to do what had to be done. “You did good.”

 

Alec’s lips curved into a wicked smile that was hidden from view by the fall of her hair. “Tell me I’m a genius.”

 

“You’re X5,” Max pointed out dryly. “We’re all geniuses.”

 

Undeterred Alec said, “Yeah, but I’m the sexiest man you know.”

 

Max was forced to concur. “Well, yeah. But don’t let it go to your head,” she warned. “Just consider the competition. Sketchy... Normal...”

 

“Logan...”

 

Max elbowed Alec in the ribs and twisted loose of his embrace. “That’s it, enough. I’m done strokin’ your ego for tonight.”

 

Alec smirked and swept the tip of his tongue across his front teeth. “So stroke something else, babe.” He grabbed her hips from behind and ground her ass into his crotch. Instinctively, she ground back.

 

Her breath hitched in her throat. He might have moaned her name but she couldn’t hear over the sound of her blood rushing through her veins and the furious pounding of her heart. A sudden, blinding onslaught of lust and desire made her vision waver.

 

She twisted in his arms and caught him in a fierce kiss. Her tongue probed his soft lips, demanding entry. He groaned and opened his mouth under the assault. Fingers tangled in hair, sliding over silky locks and tilting heads to just the right angle. Tongues collided in a wet intimate slide, stroking and tasting. Breath mingled. Time slowed and seemed to fade.

 

Max lost herself in the feel of his delicious mouth moving on hers; the taste and scent of his skin that was uniquely his. Alec’s hands skimmed her body, fingers fluttering everywhere in gentle random touches –- collarbone, flank, breast, back -– that left her breathless with anticipation.

 

Her touch was harder, more impatient. She tugged on his hair; dug fingers into his broad shoulders; roamed the planes of his back with hungry, demanding hands. She scraped fingernails down his chest to the waist band of his black cargo pants. He grew even harder beneath her questing fingers and she cupped his bulge in her hand. He groaned, and she hummed in satisfaction as he surged helplessly against her.

 

“Vixen.” His hands skimmed her rib cage and cupped her full breasts, testing their weight in his palms.

 

“Tease,” she pouted.

 

His smile was pure sin. “Want more?” he questioned. He slid one hand down the back of her thigh and coaxed her leg up to rest on his narrow hip, positioning her core over his hard length. He could feel her heat through the layers of cloth separating them. He rotated his hips, brushing her clit with his hardness.

 

She gasped with pleasure. Her head fell back in bliss and then her hot little mouth was attacking his neck, sharp teeth nipping at the soft skin of his jugular, soft lips sucking on his Adam’s apple, bruising it. He growled and pinched a nipple through the fabric of her shirt.

 

She needed him inside her. Needed to absorb him through her skin and hide him within herself where nothing could hurt him and no one could steal him away from her. Needed him to fill her body, deeper than breath.

 

Her other leg left the ground and his lean, hard body was suddenly encased in Max; her arms and legs wound tightly around his torso. His strong hands cupped her bottom, supporting her weight; deft fingers kneaded the twin globes of her ass. His lips traced her collarbone; his wicked tongue licked at the sharp bones there and dipped into the hollow. He nibbled across her skin to the pulse point where neck met shoulder. His mouth opened against her, lightly sucking at the mad fluttering beneath her skin -– the rapid beating of a heart that was in perfect sync with his own.

 

“Too many clothes,” she managed to gasp through the electric pleasure coursing through her veins. She burned with it.

 

His hips twitched and her brain melted.

 

He staggered into the deeper shadows cast by the trees and fell to his knees, sank forward and pressed Max into the mossy ground with his weight. One knee slid along his flank in a tacit invitation. Her small hands clutched his shoulders, pulling him closer. His breath grew ragged and he laid his full weight on her, flattening her into the earth, and pressed his pelvis into hers.

 

She squirmed beneath him, her busy hands tugging his shirt from his pants. He yanked it off impatiently. A hungry smile on her lips, she scored his pectorals with her sharp nails, raising bloody tracks across the smooth perfection of his skin. She brushed her palms across his flat nipples and then twisted them viciously. His cock throbbed at the pleasure inside the pain. It leaked, dampening his pants with his precum.

 

“Need you,” he moaned helplessly and kissed her; deep, hungry, open-mouthed kisses that pulled the air from her lungs and left her weak and trembling. Clever fingers undid her pants and slipped inside her panties and into the coarse curls at the apex of her thighs. Two fingers dipped between her folds to test her readiness for him. He groaned at how wet she was. Max gasped and arched her back like a bow as he teased her entrance.

 

“Turn over,” he whispered. He wanted to take her from behind like an animal, here and now, uncaring that they might be spotted by the sentries’ sharp eyes.

 

“Yes,” she whimpered softly. “Now.” Her juices flowed even more copiously at the heady thrill of danger.

 

He tugged at her pants. She obediently raised her hips for him and he pulled her pants down her legs to her knees. She rolled over and crouched on all fours, and he breathed in sharply at the tantalizing picture she made: aroused and open to him, her pretty peach bottom exposed to the night air. He swiftly knelt between her splayed legs and she heard the welcome sound of his zipper and then she was impaled on his cock, one smooth hard stroke embedding him to the root.

 

Alec stilled. She was so tight and wet, he nearly lost control entirely. Her breath caught at the invasion and the incredible sensation of him buried inside her, stretching her walls. She wriggled her bare bottom impatiently, wanting more of him; always more.

 

He groaned and lightly slapped one cheek. “Play nice, naughty girl.”

 

She laughed, a low throaty chuckle, and clenched her inner muscles around his shaft. Alec smirked wickedly and pulled back so that only the flared mushroom head was left inside her folds. Her amusement quickly turned to a needy whimper. “Alec,” she moaned and thrust backwards with her hips, desperate to keep him captured inside her where he belonged.

 

He teased her; pushing in by a few inches only to pull out again to the very tip until she was quivering and whimpering his name. He chuckled and thrust fully into her, embedding himself in her wet heat.

 

He dropped gentle kisses on the nape of her neck, her shoulder, her spine; everywhere his hungry lips could reach. His hands roamed under her shirt to play with her nipples. They were hard as pebbles, and aching for his touch. He rolled them between his index fingers and thumb, pulling and tugging. “Yes,” she mewled, and arched her back into his rough touch.

 

Pine needles dug into her hands and knees and in the morning she would find finger-shaped bruises from his tight grip on her hips, but none of that mattered now because he was inside her so deep and it felt so good and so right.

 

“Almost lost you,” she sobbed. Bracing her weight she thrust back hard, grinding her ass into his hips and forcing him deeper into her body. “You’re mine.”

 

“Yes,” he hissed; his face taut was with pleasure, the tendons in his neck corded and strained. “Yours, Max. Never leaving.”

 

He set a brutal pace, and she met him stroke for stroke. Their bodies slapped together, his coarse curls tickling the smooth skin of her ass.

 

Feeling the familiar pressure build in his scrotum, he slid one hand through her curls and pinched her clit hard. She keened in ecstasy and tossed her head frantically from side to side. She came first, and the rhythmic clenching of her tight walls around his shaft pulled him after her into sweet oblivion. Exploding into orgasm, he tipped his head back and roared his pleasure to the stars, spilling load after load of his seed into her.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Detective Clemente trudged wearily across the parking lot to his car, yanking his tie loose with an impatient jerk as he went. The sun had set an hour ago, marking the end of a very long, very tiring and very frustrating day. He had more questions than answers and if even half of what the X5s told him earlier was the truth, he suspected he’d never solve the case to his satisfaction.

 

He wondered if they’d played him for a fool.

 

He musings were brought up short by the sight of a slim brown packed addressed to him on the passenger seat of his car. His still locked car.

 

He spun around and scanned the parking lot but there was no sign of the two transgenics. Sighing, he unlocked his car and slid into the driver’s seat. He didn’t bother to handle the envelope gingerly, instinctively knowing there would be no useful fingerprints on it. The transgenics were too clever and too well-trained for that. With another sigh he slid his finger under the flap to break the seal and upended the contents onto his lap.

 

A mini disc and a sheaf of glossy photos fell out. Clemente tucked the disc into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and shuffled through the photos.

 

A woman’s naked back covered in inky markings, like tiny tattoos.

 

The outside of a posh, ivy-covered private school and a sign that read ‘Brookridge Academy’ in gilt lettering.

 

A shiny burn scar on the inside of a child’s forearm in the shape of a caduceus – the symbol for medicine since the time of the Ancient Greeks.

 

A handwritten note was scrawled in black marker across the corner of the last picture.

 

_This is the cult’s mark, like our barcode. The disc has everything we know about White and his merry band of power hungry psychotics. Don’t trust ANYONE with the Intel until they roll up their sleeves first. Talk to Otto Gotlieb (White’s SIC). He’s suspicious of his boss’s agenda, especially after the way things went down at Jam Pony._

_We’ll be in touch._

_~Max_

 

 

~*~

 

 

Original Cindy glanced from the apartment door to the wet nails of her left hand; freshly painted in Scarlet Temptress in honour of the fine looking shorty she’d spent the last week pursuing. Another soft rap on the cheap wooden door pulled her from the couch, grumbling, to answer the summons.

 

One glance at the smiling couple standing in the hallway made her forget all about her wet nails, her messy hair, and her nubby, fuzzy, well-worn bathrobe. She threw herself at Max, clutching the other girl’s slender figure to her in a close embrace. Max wrapped her arms around her sister and held on just as tightly.

 

Alec opened his mouth to snark about the girl-on-girl action then closed it with a rueful smile.

 

Cindy pulled back from the soggy hug just far enough to look into Max’s eyes. A beautiful smile had blossomed on the transgenic’s lips and it lit up her whole face from within. The guilt and fear and loss and duty and self-doubt that had haunted her too-old eyes were gone, revealing the laughing, happy, carefree girl underneath.

 

“It’s good to have ya home, baby doll.” Cindy looked over Max’s shoulder at the figure slouched against the far wall with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his favourite leather jacket. “Alec.” Detaching herself from Max, she walked over to Alec with a bright smile of welcome on her lips. “C’mere, boo.” Draping her arms around his neck, she pulled him into a hug.

 

Alec froze, still unused to being hugged just because someone was glad to see him. His hands fluttered over her back for a minute and then slowly settled on her shoulder blades. Cindy squeezed him a little tighter and then released him and stepped back.

 

“You two all done road trippin’?”

 

“Mmm hmm,” Max answered, still smiling hugely.

 

“Aiight. That’s cool.”

 

Max was the first to cross the threshold. Halfway into the apartment she came to an abrupt halt, her eyes wide with surprise. It looked almost the same as it had the day she left town. Her tools were still stacked in the corner by the window where they’d always been, and those were her clothes she could see hanging in the closet through the half-open bedroom door.

 

Original Cindy gave her a knowing smile. “Knew my suga would be home again.”

 

Alec opened his mouth to contradict her but snapped it shut again when he caught sight of Max’s happy expression. Neither girl noticed his sudden frown.

 

Grinning, Max gave her roommate a quick squeeze and vanished into the bedroom, only to emerge a few seconds later with a frown. “Cindy,” she pleaded, “tell me you’ve got my Ninja stashed in a closet somewhere!”

 

Original Cindy blinked in surprise. “Your Ninja? Figured you blew town on it.”

 

“Soldier boy here wouldn’t let me double back to get it.” Max sent an angry glare in Alec’s direction.

 

“I was saving your ass, Maxie,” Alec retorted but without much heat. “Say ‘thank you’.”

 

“Yeah, but now my ass doesn’t have a bike,” she moaned.

 

“Better’n being dead, boo,” Cindy chastised. Sometimes Max was just too hard on the boy. He was trying. And he’d kept her alive and in one piece all summer. That earned him major points.

 

“That’s open for debate,” Max grumbled. She plopped onto the couch and sank into the cushions, arms crossed and a petulant pout on her face. “That bike was my freedom. It was an extension of my soul... and if you laugh at me, Alec, I’ll kick your ass into next week!”

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Hazel eyes twinkled merrily. He sat next to her and laid one hand on her leg and gently caressed the inside of her thigh. Max’s expression lightened at the contact. Uncrossing her arms, she laid her small hand on top of Alec’s larger one. The two transgenics unconsciously leaned in until their bodies were pressed together from shoulder to hip and hip to knee.

 

Cindy goggled at the surreal sight and wondered what alternate reality she had just blundered into. The two transgenics seemed totally unaware of their actions. She knew they had grown easy in each other’s company before they left town, but this was... intimate. Cindy shook her head to clear it. ‘ _Later,_ ’ she promised herself.  _‘My boo’s got some s’plaining to do._ ’

 

“Seattle was crawling with jarheads after you left,” she explained in as normal a tone as she could manage. “Made the po-pos look like Mr-freaking-Rogers. They shook down everybody in sight. Original Cindy broke a nail teachin’ em to keep their grubby paws off her assets.” She eyed her brightly painted nails -– now smeared -– with a tragic expression that was lost on her two companions.

 

“My baby’s been gutted for spare parts! That’s grounds for torture,” Max sulked. “And what the hell am I s’posed to do for wheels?”

 

“There’s this wonderful invention called ‘money’, Max,” Alec snarked. “You remember those pretty little green pieces of paper, don’cha? You give some to the nice mechanic and...” Alec gasped dramatically, his eyes wide, “...he’ll give you a new bike.” Max smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes. Alec sighed, realizing he’d just been suckered. “Fine. If I buy you a bike will you stop riding my ass about it?”

 

“Depends.”

 

“On what?”

 

“On how much you spend. Duh.”

 

Alec waved his finger at her. “Ah ah ah, Maxie, that’s extortion. Plus you know I’m gonna hafta steal something to get the cash. Isn’t stealing wrong?” he asked innocently.

 

Max shrugged one shoulder. “You owe me, pretty boy.”

 

“At least some things don’t change,” Cindy muttered and ducked into her room in search of clothing, shaking her head perplexedly.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Empty bottles littered the coffee table. The air was filled with the pungent, acrid scent of marijuana; it tickled the back of Alec’s throat and made his head ache slightly. Original Cindy was folded into the depths of a squishy, faded green armchair, nursing a beer. Sketchy lounged on the floor near her feet, his head propped up on his hand. The two transgenics occupied the couch opposite the humans: Alec stretched out in a typical alpha male sprawl while Max curled into the arm rest with her long legs tucked under her like a colt. Her bare feet pressed against the outside of Alec’s thigh. He idly traced the curve of her ankle bone with his fingertips.

 

Sketchy drained his beer in one long swallow, and belched loudly. Cindy cuffed him on the back of the head. “S’not water, fool,” she muttered as Sketchy tossed the empty aside and took a hit off his joint. “Alec... it’s your turn to haul Sketchy’s drunken self home and tuck him into bed. Original Cindy don’t need to see that skinny white ass EVER again.” She shuddered dramatically. “Once was bad enough.”

 

Alec cocked one eyebrow, intrigued by the mental pictures conjured by that statement.

 

“Get your filthy mind outta the gutter, boy. It wasn’t even like that. Max was there too.”

 

Both Alec’s eyebrows climbed his forehead. He turned to Max, a lascivious smirk dancing on his lips. Max flushed. “Maxie! I totally understand -– and endorse, by the way -– the desire to explore your inner kink in a threesome with OC... but Sketchy?!?” He tsked and shook his head. “All you had to do was ask. I’da been more than happy to oblige. You know I’m all about helping my friends.”

 

“Threesome,” Sketchy repeated with a blissful look on his face. Then the rest of Alec’s sentence penetrated. “Dude!” he protested.

 

“I so did not get naked with Sketchy!” Max sputtered. “Idiot tried to scam the Russian mafia and got himself strung up by the heels in the middle of Sector 5, butt naked. Me and Cindy had to cut him loose before he embarrassed himself. Well... more than he already had.”

 

 _‘Oh goodie. Another trip down memory lane. And the surround sound version no less,_ ’ Alec griped to himself as the three friends competed to tell the story, their excited voices overlapping one another’s. He tuned them out. As amusing as the tales were, he was tired of being regaled by stories of Max’s former life -– a life he had no part in. The more they reminisced, the more he felt like an outsider.

 

It was a feeling he had been well acquainted with since ’09. One he detested, violently.

 

Alec knew his exclusion was unintentional. He also knew he was being petty and irrational but he couldn’t shake the feeling any more than he could keep back the nagging fear that Max had no intention of returning to Manticore with him. That what she really wanted was right here: this city; this apartment; her old job; her old friends. Her ‘normal’ life.

 

The Max in those stories was a light hearted and carefree creature. He wished he could have known her then; before her return to Manticore, before White, before the virus.

 

Before Ben.

 

He drained the last of the Scotch in his glass in a greedy swallow.

 

Leaning forward to deposit the glass on the coffee table, his ears perked up at a sudden turn in the conversation. He prodded Sketchy’s prone form with the toe of his boot. “Casino?” Max jumped at the sound of his voice, almost as if she’d forgotten he was there. Or didn’t care. It brought all his insecurities bubbling to the surface and he barely suppressed a bitter sigh.

 

“Yeah, dude. Max was the bomb. Won fifteen grand like it was nothing. Totally awesome.”

 

“Uh huh. Right.” Alec tipped his head to one side; his eyebrows were scrunched together and his lips pursed in a look of mock confusion. “Explain it to me, would’ya Maxie, because I’m a little lost here. When you needed cash so you could have sex, I somehow ended up trapped in a VERY tiny closet for an HOUR, but when Sketch needed cash you go... gambling?? Where’s the justice?” He pouted. “How come you never took me out to hit the tables? We coulda made a killing.”

 

“Riight.” Max rolled her eyes. “Like I had time for fun between dodging White and saving your sorry ass on a regular basis.”

 

Max saw Alec clamp his jaw tightly shut as if afraid of what might come out if he opened his mouth. His hand left her skin; her ankle felt the chill of its absence. She shrugged and looked away. Alec had been bored all evening and made virtually no effort to join in the conversation. His attitude was ruining her attempt to pretend that everything in her life was normal again. ‘ _Ugh. Would it kill him to place nice for ONE night?_ ’

 

“So whaddaya guys think it’ll take to get our old jobs back?” Max asked in a deliberate change of subject. Not that she had any intention of returning to Jam Pony, but it was amusing to speculate.

 

Sketchy raised his head from the floor and said hopefully, “You could try flashing some skin again.”

 

Original Cindy snorted. “I’m thinking it’s pretty boy’s turn.”

 

Max burst out laughing and promptly choked on her beer. Coughing, one hand waving uselessly in the air, she sputtered, “Give Normal a peek at Alec in the shower and we’ll all get a raise.”

 

She glanced sidelong at Alec, expecting to be met with a cocky grin. It wasn’t there. His face was a blank mask; only his eyes held any life. They burned right through hers with an emotion she couldn’t name. Max’s smile faded. “What?” she asked defensively.

 

Alec bristled at the look of annoyance that flared in the depths of Max’s eyes, though he didn’t let it show on his face. “Nothing,” he said blandly. “Nothing at all.” He held Max’s gaze for a beat then stood, snatched his glass from the coffee table and stalked into the kitchen.

 

Cindy caught Max’s eye, one delicate eyebrow raised in a question mark. Mystified, Max shrugged. Cindy jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen. ‘Talk to him, boo,’ she mouthed.

 

Max craned her neck to look at Alec over the back of the sofa. He was braced against the counter: head hanging; arms straight and locked at the elbow; strong hands clenching the cold metal lip of the sink. His stiff posture radiated tension. She shook her head mutely at Cindy and refused to budge from the couch. Cindy pursed her lips and crossed her arms and waited her out. Max caved. Moving slowly, she stood and turned to face the kitchen, just as Alec reached over and snagged his leather jacket from the hook by the door.

 

“You’re leaving?” she blurted.

 

Alec shrugged nonchalantly and slipped into his coat. “Thought one of us better head back to base. Can’t leave the troops alone for too long,” he smiled wryly, “fun might break out.”

 

“Oh.” Max’s stomach lurched as she tried to figure out what was going on with him. He was so cold and closed off. “Right.”

 

Alec watched her face fall and her eyes cloud over, and felt like a jerk for ruining her evening. ‘ _Crap._ ’ He had to leave. Now. Before he did something stupid. “I’ll see you back at base?” Alec grimaced; what was meant as a casual statement came out sounding more like a question. He hated begging for anything. Especially from Max.

 

“Sure. Whatever.” Max nodded and quickly retreated into the bathroom and shut the door. She laid her head against the thin plywood, feeling disappointed and angry. ‘ _What the hell just happened? I thought we were having fun._ ’

 

Alec bit back the urge to laugh as Max practically ran from the room. Ran from him. ‘ _Fuck. Right on schedule._ ’ He sighed and tossed a quick “Catch you later,” over his shoulder to the two humans and left the apartment. His escape was brought up short when Cindy scurried into the hallway after him.

 

She eyed him steadily, arms crossed over her chest. “My boo’s happy and I thought mebbe you had something to do with that. But you’re sulking like a boy whose momma just took away his lollipop. What’s got you spun so bad?”

 

Alec spread his arms wide and tossed her a patently fake smile. “Nothing. You know me. I’m always alright.”

 

Her face softened into concern and sympathy. “Max told me ‘bout how you were the one that had to kill White and--”

 

Alec couldn’t help himself. He laughed. He hadn’t spared a second thought for the Familiar he’d murdered. Abruptly he sobered; all trace of emotion and personality leeched instantly from his face. He closed the distance between them and met Cindy’s soft gaze with an impassive stare. “White was a threat. I eliminated that threat. And if you think that bothers me, you’re wrong. I am what I am. What I was meant to be. I make no apology for that. That’s Max’s routine.”

 

Cindy instinctively recoiled from the X5’s cold, hard expression, but her eyes remained soft. Alec bit back a growl. He refused to let anyone pity him. He went on the offensive. “You think you know me,” he hissed, “but you don’t. You don’t know the first thing about me.”

 

“And who’s fault is that, pretty boy?” Cindy retorted. Alec glared at her but she refused to back down. “You heard me. We don’t know you because you won’t let us in. You keep everybody at arm’s length. You’re even worse than Max.”

 

Alec leaned into the black girl’s personal space, bringing his eyes level with hers. “The last person I let in was Rachel,” he spat out, “and it got her killed.”

 

His eyes radiated confusion and pain; more pain than someone so young should know. Cindy winced and instinctively reached out to offer what comfort she could. Alec shied away. His eyes left hers and drifted to the apartment door. Need and yearning joined the pain there, and he stared at the door as if he could see through it to the girl hidden inside.

 

And then he was gone.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Alec’s feet automatically took him past Command HQ on his way to his quarters. Dim light spilled into the corridor from the partially open door to the briefing room. Alec slipped inside. Mole was there alone, boots propped on the battered table, one yellow eye on the security feed and the other on the shotgun he was polishing with tender care.

 

Alec slouched tiredly in the doorway, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He idly wondered if the transhuman ever slept; he seemed to occupy that chair around the clock. “Honey, I’m home.”

 

“You look like shit,” Mole said bluntly.

 

“Bad night.” Alec shrugged dismissively. “Don’t ask.”

 

“Wasn’t gonna. Think I wanna know what goes on inside that pretty lil head of yours?” Mole eyed him appraisingly. “I’ll do ya one better.” He reached into a duffle bag by his chair. It clinked as he rummaged through it. Straightening, he tossed a murky brown bottle overhand to Alec.

 

Alec pulled the cork. The fumes assaulted his sensitive nose; it smelled like lighter fluid with a chaser of wintergreen oil and juniper berries.

 

“M’ special brew,” Mole said proudly. “I got me a still in the basement.”

 

Alec eyed Mole’s concoction dubiously then shrugged and took a long pull. Liquid fire scorched his throat to his belly. “Smooth,” he croaked, his eyes watering. He took another, longer pull while Mole looked on in pride.

 

Alec dropped into a chair and passed the bottle to Mole. He wiped the neck and drank deeply. They sat in companionable silence, the liquid in the bottle steadily shrinking as they passed it back and forth across the table.

 

When the bottle was almost empty, the door swung open and Dix and Joshua wandered in. Both nomalies smiled brightly at Alec.

 

“Hey there, medium fella. Where’s little fella?” Joshua eagerly scanned the briefing room for Max, and even spun around to check the corners by the door. Alec half-expected him to get down on all fours and check under the table.

 

“Max isn’t here,” Alec said shortly. “She’s off pretending to be normal again.” Joshua’s shoulders slumped. Alec shrugged and looked away, feeling guilty.

 

“She’ll be back soon,” Dix said in a chipper voice. Mole snorted derisively. Alec took a swig from the bottle. Joshua stared mournfully at his bootlaces. Silence descended on the room.

 

Mole pulled a battered deck of cards from his pocket and held it up. “Poker?”

 

“So long as it’s not strip poker,” Alec answered. “I’ve seen about as much of your scaly hide as I care to.” He eyed Mole’s hands and head – the only parts of the reptilian’s anatomy not covered by his army jacket. To Alec’s knowledge, no one had ever seen him take it off.

 

“Feelin’s mutual, princess,” Mole retorted. “You’re too smooth and pink for my tastes.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

“Morning,” Max mumbled around a huge yawn. Shuffling into the kitchen she poured herself a cup of coffee and sank down on a stool next to Original Cindy. Propping her elbow on the counter, she cradled her chin and stifled another yawn. Her eyes drooped closed. She had barely slept a wink and for once it wasn’t due to the peculiarities of her genetic makeup -– last night was the first night in weeks she hadn’t slept in the same bed as Alec.

 

“How ya doin’ boo? Really.”

 

Max beamed at her best friend. It was as if a light was suddenly switched on, completely transforming the transgenic’s countenance. “White’s gone. The cult’s finished. It’s over. It’s finally over.” She laughed; a happy, carefree sound Cindy hadn’t heard in far too long. “It’s like this whole year was one long nightmare, y’know? And now I’m awake and everything is the way it’s supposed to be.”

 

“Everything?” Cindy arched one delicate eyebrow. “So what’s up with you and your boy? And don’t give me that he’s-not-my-boy BS or Original Cindy’s gonna lay the smack down on your ass. I saw you two macking on each other.”

 

“I’m hungry,” Max announced. “You want anything?” Jumping from her seat, she turned her back to her very perceptive friend and buried her flaming face in the cupboards.

 

Original Cindy took a sip of coffee and watched with growing amusement as her best friend knocked around their dinky kitchen, repeatedly opening and closing their three meagre cupboards as if she didn’t already have their contents memorized. “Max.”

 

Max banged a drawer shut loudly, drowning out the sound of Cindy’s voice. “Where the hell are the damn spoons?” she grumbled.

 

Very deliberately, Cindy set her coffee cup on the counter and crossed her arms. “Max! Everything is exactly where it was before and you know it so don’t go playin’ that game with me. You just don’t wanna fess up ’bout what’s goin’ on with you and pretty boy. But I’ll sit here all morning till you spill, so sit your raggedy ass down and start talking.”

 

Sighing, Max sank down onto her stool. Curling her fingers around her mug, she stared into the depths as if it held all the answers. “Cindy... have things ever turned out... completely different from the way you thought it would go?”

 

Cindy laughed softly and shook her head. “It’s called life, sugar.” She smiled fondly at the transgenic. This world was still new to Max in so many ways, despite the fact she’d spent twelve years in it. “So you and pretty boy are getting it on. For sure, for real?”

 

Max nodded. She continued to scrutinize the contents of her coffee cup, not quite ready to deal with the inevitable onslaught of questions, half of which she had no answers for.

 

Cindy snorted under her breath. “‘Bout damn time, boo. You two been playin’ with fire for months.”

 

That got the reaction she was looking for; Max snapped her head up and met Cindy’s gaze squarely. Cindy bestowed a benevolent smile on the confused transgenic. Reaching over, she pulled one of Max’s slim hands from its death grip on the coffee cup and wrapped it in both of hers. “Original Cindy’s ain’t judging you, boo. You gotta follow your bliss, even if it takes you someplace you never thought you’d go. Look at me. Original Cindy ain’t the girl next door, but it’s who I am and it’s what I need to be happy in this messed up world.”

 

Max sighed and traced idle patterns on the countertop with a fingertip. “I thought it was supposed to be Logan,” she said softly, “but... everything with him was so... hard. And Alec...” Max shrugged one shoulder. “Alec makes me happy.”

 

“Of course he does. Boy’s got it bad for ya, boo. Real bad.” Max averted her gaze. Cindy suppressed a sigh; sometimes getting Max to open up was like digging through concrete with a spoon. “Talk to me, boo. What’s buggin’ ya?”

 

“Nothing,” Max said with a patently false smile.

 

Cindy waggled a finger at Max. “Don’t give me that, boo. I know you. I know something’s got you spun and not in a good way. Our boy not treatin’ you right?”

 

Max smiled softly to herself. “Yeah, he is. Cindy, you have no idea how sweet he can be... when he’s not acting like a total jerk.” Max rolled her eyes.

 

“He gets your motor jumpin’ sugar, and you love it.” The two women shared a grin. Original Cindy timed her next question for when Max took a sip from her cup. “What about the sex? He as good as he says he is?”

 

Max obligingly sputtered coffee down the front of her tank top. She blushed furiously. “Cindy! I am sooo not discussing my sex life at...” Max swivelled to check the time on the clock behind her, “...7:30 in the morning!!”

 

“Well if he’s good to ya in bed and outta it, then what’s the problem, boo?”

 

Max sighed and slumped in her seat. She knew she might as well confess; Cindy would have it out of her sooner or later; she was relentless as a pit bull in that respect. It was a trait Max had secretly come to rely on. “He’s still in love with Rachel,” she confessed her secret fear in a tiny voice, her eyes focused on a point 6 inches to the left of Cindy’s ear, “and I think he always will be.”

 

Cindy eyed her friend sympathetically. “Honey, that don’t mean a thing. Your first love is just that. Your first. That boy’s got a big heart. There’s room in there for you too.” Cindy smirked. “You just gotta show him why.” Off Max’s slightly puzzled expression, Cindy sighed and said, “Think Max! Think about what happened the last time he let someone in. For him to admit that he cares for you, to risk that pain and put himself out there and make himself vulnerable again... that’s a huge deal for him. And he’s not gonna make the first move. He just isn’t. You gotta meet him halfway, Max, and you gotta be the one to take the first step.”

 

Cindy swore she could hear the wheels turning in Max’s brain. Smiling in satisfaction, Cindy gave Max’s hand a comforting squeeze and stood up. Max looked up in surprise. Cindy pulled a face and shrugged. “Sorry boo, but work’s callin’ Original Cindy’s name.”

 

“S’okay. Blowing it off would look suspicious, especially after what went down last night. I know.” Max flashed Cindy a smile. “Thought I’d hit South Market, see if I can score Joshua a grapefruit. He’s never tasted one before.”

 

“Whoa... bad idea,” Cindy said quickly. “Feds are serious ‘bout catchin’ your ass, Max. They got wanted posters plastered all over the damn place. Can’t go anywhere without seeing your face. And the money on offer makes last time look like chump change.”

 

“Wonderful.” Max rolled her eyes. “Guess I’ll do the ole fashioned sneak and creep through the sewer tunnels then. Check out Terminal City. See if we left anything behind worth having.”

 

“There’s nothing there, boo. City called in a CDC hazmet team to detox the place, and the army’s been knocking down buildings. They don’t want you using TC as a base ever again.”

 

“They’re what!? Oh man, that bites.” Terminal City was a crumbling hell hole, but it was THEIRS.

 

“Boo... you know you gotta lay low until dark.” Max nodded reluctantly. Cindy enveloped her friend in a gentle hug and whispered in her ear. “Seattle’s not your home anymore, Max.”

 

“...no...” Max sighed. “I guess not.”

 

Cindy stared intently into Max’s dark eyes. Coming to a decision, she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. “There’s somethin’ else you need to know.”

 

Max looked at her warily. “Why do I get the feeling I don’t wanna hear this?”

 

“White’s been on TV spreading all kind of nasties ‘bout you and Alec and the others. Logan tried for a while but... people didn’t wanna hear it. Eyes Only was losing street cred so... he stopped ‘bout a month ago.” Cindy trailed off and shrugged apologetically. “I’m sorry, boo.”

 

“Don’t be. World’s gotta be saved. Pick your battles, right?” Max shrugged casually, but she dropped her eyes to hide how much it hurt. Eyes Only was supposed to be the champion of the downtrodden -– and no one had a boot to the back of the neck more than the transgenics.

 

Cindy hesitated, reluctant to leave. “You gonna be aiight, boo?”

 

Max forced a reassuring smile. “Always.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Syl eyed Alec curiously, taking in his rumpled clothing, the stubble on his chin and jaw, and the dishevelled hair that looked as if he’d spent hours raking frustrated fingers through it. She shook her head in fond exasperation. ‘ _Men,_ ’ she snorted. ‘ _Like a massive hangover is gonna solve anything._ ’

 

“Rough night?”

 

He blinked blearily at her. “Yeah.” He raised one hand to shade his aching eyes from the early morning sun.

 

“So where’s Maxie?”

 

“Seattle.”

 

“Yeah, that’s the part that’s got me stumped. Why are you here when she’s there?”

 

“You’re asking me? I thought you of all people would get it. You’re a Niner.” His voice held no rancour; just a bleak acceptance. “That’s your world out there. This is mine.”

 

Syl raised one eyebrow questioningly. “You really believe that crap?”

 

“I dunno.” He shrugged listlessly. “Max does.”

 

Syl crooked her finger, motioning him closer. Alec looked confused but obligingly leaned in closer and brought his face level with Syl’s. She cuffed him on the back of the skull.

 

“Ow! What the hell was that for?” Alec complained, rubbing his tender head.

 

“You’re an idiot,” Syl informed him coolly. “Max has always been all about family. Have a little faith, would’ya.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

“Arrgh!” Max growled aloud in pure frustration, realizing she’d just read the same paragraph three times. She gave up the futile attempt to read and tossed her book across the room. Catch 22 didn’t appeal today, even if it was her favourite. Nothing held her interest, not daytime TV and not her meagre collection of novels, all of which she’d read at least twice already. She couldn’t call the base to talk to Joshua in case the feds had a tracer on the phone line. She couldn’t even go to the Needle because she’d lost her Ninja. She was climbing the walls.

 

Damn feline DNA.

 

Groaning, she rolled over onto her back. Squinting, she tried to form shapes out of the brown water stains on the bedroom ceiling but that quickly turned boring so she got up and prowled restlessly through the empty apartment, idly touching the familiar objects -– her favourite chipped coffee mug, a tube of Original Cindy’s lipstick, a wing nut from her toolbox...

 

So many nights she’d lain awake in some cheap, dingy motel and dreamed of being back in this crappy apartment. And now that she was, she felt like a caged animal.

 

Several aimless circuits later, she washed up next to the phone. She stared blankly at it for several seconds then picked up the receiver and dialled Logan.

 

“Hey. Me hittin’ you back.”

 

“Max?” Logan asked, nonplussed. “I didn’t page you.” He glanced around his office and wondered if he’d fallen asleep at his desk again.

 

“Must’ve. You’re the only one who ever beeps me.”

 

Only he hadn’t. Her silent pager sat on the windowsill in the office of this condemned house that was now his home. Original Cindy gave it to him for a souvenir about a week after Max left town; she’d claimed the damn thing was more his than Max’s anyway.

 

“You left your pager at Jam Pony.” Logan winced. That came out a lot more accusatory than he’d intended.

 

“Oh. Yeah.” Max sighed. Couldn’t he take a joke? Sure it was lame, but Alec would’ve laughed. “Kinda had more important things on my mind at the time.”

 

‘ _Yeah. Because making sure I had a way to contact you... not important at all._ ’ Logan removed his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. When had he become so bitter?

 

An image of Alec and Max standing in the early morning sunshine outside her apartment building, his arm draped across her shoulders and his cheek brushing hers, skin on skin, flashed into his mind.

 

Right.

 

“So what’s doin’?”

 

Logan retreated, as always, into the comforting distraction of work. “I got a call from Matt Sung yesterday. White was found dead in the reservoir tank at the water treatment plant two nights ago.”

 

“He had it coming.”

 

Logan could hear the dismissive shrug in her tone of voice. He blanched. Was she always this nonchalant about murder?

 

“Cult’s finished too,” she added. “We took out most of their inner circle. No more whacked out doomsday plots.”

 

“Max... tell me you didn’t go after White on your own.” Logan took her silence as confirmation, and exploded. “Max, what were you thinking?? Did you even have a plan? Or back up? Max, why didn’t you ask me for help?”

 

Max pulled a face at the barrage of questions flying through the phone at her. “What’s your damage?”

 

“What’s my damage?” he repeated, sputtering slightly. “White wanted you dead or in a cage and you didn’t call me! If something had happened to you, I’d never even know.” His stomach clenched painfully, remembering the long dark summer of her ‘death.’

 

“Hello! Genetically engineered supersoldier here. I can handle myself. ‘Sides, I had an army of transgenics to back me up.”

 

“You should’ve called me,” Logan insisted. “You needed me. I should’ve been there to watch your back.”

 

“There wasn’t time,” Max half-lied. And there wasn’t; at least, not once White fled the warehouse with the urn. “We had it under control. No point getting Eyes Only involved.”

 

“Except I’ve been involved since the beginning! I made Eyes Only a target helping you! White wanted me gone as much as you.”

 

“Are you actually pissed at me because I kept you outta the line of fire?!” Max asked incredulously. “You don’t dodge bullets so good, remember?”

 

“Oh, and Alec does?” Logan said snidely. “Was it his idea? Is he why you kept me out of the loop?”

 

“Don’t even go there,” she warned. “Alec had nothing to do with this.”

 

“Then why’d you shut me out?”

 

“God, Logan! It’s not like it was personal, okay? This is what we were designed to do. It’s why we exist. It’s just something we had to do on our own.”

 

“Oh. I get it. You mean... no Norms allowed, don’t you, Max?” Logan said bitterly.

 

“Yes. No!” Max groaned. “Logan... Eyes Only is your thing. It’s who you are. You couldn’t turn your back on it if you tried. This was on us. Tell me you get that.”

 

“...I’m just glad you’re alright, Max,” Logan said softly, sidestepping the issue.

 

He did get it, he just didn’t want to. Because if she didn’t need him for this, if she didn’t need his help with her mission, then where did he fit in her life?

 

An uncomfortable silence descended on the line.

 

“Oh!” Max exclaimed, suddenly recalling the reason she called. “You’ll never guess who showed up at Manticore. Syl and Krit and Zane and Jondy! They caught your EO hack.”

 

So this was it; the end of their quid pro quo. Logan chuckled under his breath. It figured he’d fulfill his half of their bargain when he wasn’t even trying to. When he was desperate for any excuse to see her again.

 

Karmic retribution for not trying all that hard to locate her errant siblings, no doubt.

 

“That’s great, Max. I know how much you wanted your family back.”

 

Another, even more awkward silence crashed over them.

 

“Um... I should probably go. OC will be home soon. She was gonna ditch work as soon as she could duck Normal’s radar.”

 

“You’re at your apartment?” Logan asked in some surprise. He had assumed she was at Manticore with the rest of her kind.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You could come over. We could catch up, maybe play some chess. I’ll make you dinner, just like old times.”

 

“No!” Max said, a little too quickly. “I mean, I can’t. OC’s gonna be back soon and I promised her some QT for the girly arts. You know, paint our nails... curl our hair...”

 

Max eyed her ragged, unpolished nails. She needed some pampering after months on the road, living out of duffle bags and take-out cartons. Not that she was wondering whether Alec would prefer her in black or red nail polish. Nope; she wasn’t trying to make herself pretty for anyone but herself. And she sure as hell wasn’t picturing what her newly manicured nails would look like scraping across his tanned skin.

 

Nope, not at all.

 

“Sounds like fun.”

 

Max dragged her attention back to the phone call. There was a strange note in Logan’s voice that she hadn’t heard before. “Logan... are we good?”

 

Why was this so damn awkward? There was a time when Logan was the easiest person in her world to talk to. What happened to them?

 

Right. She’d died and came back even freakier than before.

 

“Of course, Max,” Logan soothed automatically.

 

“So, catch you later?”

 

“Sure. Max...?”

 

Max laughed. “I know... be careful.”

 

“Max, I’m serious. White was busy after you skipped town. It’s not safe for you to move around. He put thermal scanners on all the sector checkpoints, and most major cities have followed suit. They’re serious about keeping transgenics away from ordinary people.”

 

“Great.” Max sighed heavily. “Thanks for the head’s up.” She disconnected the line and quickly dialled Alec’s cell.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m bored,” she whined. “I’m stuck in the apartment and there’s nothing to do and I can’t even go out because they’ll tag me for a trannie as soon as I try to leave the sector. Entertain me.”

 

Alec grinned to himself. ‘ _Less than 12 hours without me and she’s bored already. Yep, I still got it._ ’ He dropped his voice an octave to a low sexy rumble. “You’re bored. And you want me to ‘entertain’ you. Over the phone. Maxie, you dirty little vixen.”

 

Max rolled her eyes. “You’re bent.”

 

“And you scream for it.”

 

Across town, Logan stared at the phone in his hands and listened to the angry buzz of the disconnected line, before slowly setting the receiver back in its cradle.

 


	19. Chapter 19

Max woke to the sunrise and Alec’s touch. Gossamer kisses fell like rain across her neck and shoulders. She murmured contentedly, a breathy little sigh, and arched into his caress. Naked, the two transgenics were curled together in the centre of their bed like twin question marks; Alec’s lean torso was moulded to the curve of Max’s spine, his thighs tucked under hers and her ass cradled in the hollow of his hips. The hard evidence of his arousal lay nestled in the cleft between her cheeks.

 

She canted her head around to capture his lips, one hand snaking up to cup the back of his skull. His hair slid through her fingers like silk. She pressed his mouth to hers, her nails lightly scraping his scalp. The kiss was long and slow and sweet.

 

“Morning,” Alec murmured as he nibbled at the plump softness of her bottom lip, tasting her flavour.

 

“Morning,” she responded breathlessly and smiled shyly at him from beneath lowered lashes.

 

Alec dropped a gentle kiss on each eye, the tip of her nose, and the point of her chin. It made her giggle. He swallowed the laugh as it fell from her lips, then trailed kisses along her jaw and down her throat, kissing and licking the salty skin. Her pulse quickened and he watched it drum frantically against her skin. He sucked on that tender bit of flesh; nipped with sharp white teeth. Her eyes slid shut, and she hummed in satisfaction.

 

Nuzzling into her soft skin, he kissed her barcode; traced its delicate lines with the tip of his tongue. It was the only marking still visible on her caramel skin; the runes had faded the day after the planetary alignment, receding into her body as quickly as they had emerged.

 

Closing his eyes he buried his face between her shoulder blades and inhaled her scent. Max was warm and flushed from sleep, her natural scent strong beneath the faded traces of shampoo and soap left from yesterday’s shower. Even more intoxicating, he could smell himself all over her. Her scent had been overlaid by his and it touched him on a primitive level, stirred the protective instincts of his feline ancestors.

 

Smiling into her spine, he nipped the tip of one wing, traced the curve of sharp bone with tongue and teeth and blew cool air across the damp skin, raising goose bumps. “You taste so good, Max,” he purred into her ear.

 

His warm breath stirred a few strands of loose hair, sending shivers racing down her spine to her core. He was so close she could feel his naked body pressed intimately against hers from shoulder to feet, felt the beating of his heart against her back, steady and strong.

 

“Ohhh,” she sighed as his free hand roamed her torso from hip to shoulder, his knuckles lightly skimming the outside of her breast. Desire settled over her body like a heavy blanket. Shifting slightly, she draped her top leg over his, allowing his erection to slip down between her legs. He pressed his hardness into her soft flesh, the head of his cock teasing and leaving her aching for stronger contact. Max brushed her ass against his erection enticingly, silently urging him to enter.

 

The arm beneath her head shifted, his hand reaching down to fondle her breast, teasing the nipple into a hard little button. He pinched it gently, eliciting a hungry moan from her. His other hand slowly drifted down her stomach and into her dark curls. Skilled fingers unerringly located the hard bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs and he flicked it with a nail, making her jump and gasp, her eyes wide.

 

Her arousal perfumed the air -- tangy and fragrant. She ground her hips into his, seeking friction to ease the growing ache inside her core. He traced the opening to her body then slowly slid his middle finger inside. Her breath hitched in her throat at the welcome invasion. He pulled out and added another finger, gliding easily on her slickness. She moved with his hand, pushing into it, his knuckle brushing her clitoris with each inward thrust of his fingers.

 

“More,” she demanded in an imperious moan. “Now.”

 

Groaning deep in his throat, he pulled her leg higher on his hip, opening her wide to his hungry cock, and slid in easily on the combined slickness of her wetness and his pre-cum. She gasped as he filled her. Nearly undone by the exquisite sensation of being buried inside his mate, he froze, eyes closed and breathing hard, his head resting on hers.

 

Slowly he rocked their bodies; long, languid thrusts that barely shifted his cock inside her. Impatient, she squirmed and wriggled, urging him on, begging him for more -- more depth, more friction. More of everything. Their coarse, Army-issue wool blanket chaffed her sensitized skin and she flung it off with a muttered oath, sighing as the cool early morning air hit her sweat-slicked skin.

 

“Relax, baby,” he whispered into her ear, his teeth nibbling on the lobe. “Let it build. It’ll be so good, I promise.” His voice was low and almost ragged with desire.

 

She grumbled but acquiesced, stilling her body and letting him set the pace. Reaching for the hand on her breast, she twined her fingers with his. He nuzzled the back of her neck and mouthed the bony contours of her spine, making her shiver. Pleasure radiated out from their joining in gentle ebb and flow. All thought floated away, erased by the lazy pumping of his hips and the light caressing of his fingers at her throbbing clit.

 

The tension slowly wound tighter and tighter, building inexorably towards the peak. When it came, her climax was like their lovemaking -- sweet and slow; it crested and broke and smothered her in a wave of sensation. She shuddered and called his name on a breathless sigh. Her inner walls clamped down hard on his hard shaft and squeezed him tightly, taking him with her. He jerked helplessly as his own orgasm tore through him, and he emptied his seed into her in great spurts, grunting his release into her neck.

 

Panting, Alec slipped from her body and flopped onto his back. Max rolled with him and pillowed her head on his chest above his heart. One strong arm automatically curled around her back to hold her close. His other hand rested lightly on the leg she’d draped across his body, his thumb stroking the soft skin of her thigh. Max sighed contentedly. She was sticky with their combined spendings but she couldn’t bring herself to care; not when she lay sleepy and sated in Alec’s arms.

 

“Wow,” she breathed into his neck. “That’s a MUCH better wake-up call than Reveille. A girl could get used to that.”

 

Alec dropped a kiss on the crown of her head. “Stage one of my nefarious plan.”

 

Max’s lips twitched in barely suppressed amusement. “You have a plan? With actual stages?” His body bristled indignantly beneath her.

 

“Glass houses? Stones?”

 

Max couldn’t help but snicker at his aggrieved tone. “Alec, your quote-unquote... nefarious plans... usually involve placing Sketchy in close proximity to a pitcher of beer and a pool table and reaping the benefits of the inevitable collision.”

 

“And here I thought the endorphins from sex were supposed to make you less bitchy,” Alec grumbled in mock annoyance.

 

“Ahh. Doping me with my own ‘happy’ hormones. Very clever.” Max allowed herself a sly smile, knowing he couldn’t see it, and added in a mock innocent voice, “So was that the nefarious part or does that come later?”

 

Max didn’t need to see Alec’s face to know his lower lip was pushed forward into a pout. She smiled and pressed a kiss to his chest in mute apology. “Fine,” she sighed dramatically, “I’ll play. If that’s stage one... what’s stage two?”

 

Silence met her question. Eventually Max summoned the energy to raise her head. Alec favoured her with a sexy smirk and a wink. “Simple. Repeat stage one.” Framing her face in his hands, he dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Again,” kiss, “and again,” kiss, “and again.”

 

Warmth suffused her body, his teasing words soothing her ingrained fear of abandonment. Deep down, part of her expected to lose Alec; she’d lost just about everyone else she’d ever cared about. One way or another, they had all left her behind. Except him.

 

“Mmm,” Max murmured against his lips, “like the plan. Endorse the plan.”

 

Alec reflexively tightened his hold on Max at the promise in her words. Pulling her close he crushed her lips to his in a searing kiss that made her toes curl and her eyes flutter shut. Her lips parted on a moan, and his tongue stabbed into her mouth. He plundered her mouth, the hands tangled in her hair holding her captive to his kiss. Unconsciously Max kneaded the soft flesh of Alec’s belly. He inhaled sharply, his stomach muscles rippling and quivering under her fingertips. His groin tightened in anticipation.

 

Panting breathlessly, heart pounding, Max broke the kiss and desperately sucked in a much-need breath.

 

Alec grinned cheekily at her. “Somebody’s in a good mood,” he teased.

 

“Guess I finally woke up on the right side of the bed,” she replied with a bright and happy smile.

 

Alec slowly and deliberately turned his head to look to the left and then the right and then up at Max. She lay half on top of him with her forearms braced against his chest to prop herself upright. One eyebrow climbed his forehead.

 

“You call this ‘up’?” he asked, amused.

 

Max shrugged. “I’m awake and no longer entirely horizontal. That counts as ‘up’.”

 

“Well then,” Alec drawled, “by your definition, I’m ‘up’ too.”

 

He flexed his hips and brushed the tip of his burgeoning arousal against her body. She raked her eyes down his lean torso. His penis lay curled against the top of one thigh. Max watched, fascinated, as it stirred and twitched under the weight of her stare, growing long and hard and thick. A single pearly drop of pre-cum leaked from the slit. It glistened faintly in the dim light.

 

“Nope, still half mast,” she teased, reluctantly dragging her eyes back to his, “That’s like sleepwalking. Doesn’t count.”

 

“So c’mere and get me up,” he leered.

 

“Can’t,” Max said solemnly and shook her head, but her dark eyes sparkled mischievously. “Don’cha know it’s dangerous to wake a sleepwalker?”

 

She dropped a kiss on his mouth, paused and came back to nibble on his jutting lower lip when it proved too delectable to ignore, then lowered her head and laid it on his chest. Alec grumbled but immediately folded his arms around her slight frame, holding her close as she burrowed into his arms; both transgenics seeking a physical connection more intimate than sex. Alec stroked her hair absently, threading his fingers through the dark skeins in a slow hypnotic rhythm that lulled them both into that lazy state between sleeping and waking. She toyed idly with one bronzed nipple and traced random sigils across his heart. The silence lay thick and heavy on the room, broken only by the sound of their breathing.

 

“I’m not sleeping on the floor, y’know,” Max announced, a propos of absolutely nothing.

 

“Very good, Maxie,” Alec teased, “but in English we call this a ‘mattress.’”

 

Ignoring the jibe, Max repeated firmly, “I am NOT sleeping on the floor. When we set up base camp I want a REAL bed with a frame and everything. Not like this.” She shot him a mutinous glare, as if holding him responsible for the fact she’d slept on a mattress on the floor for almost as long as she’d been out in the world.

 

Alec rolled his eyes skyward. “Max, YOU’RE the one who chose to squat in a condemned building all those years. Not me. I found me a sweet crib with ACTUAL furniture. The kind NOT scavenged from the city dump.”

 

“It’s called recycling,” Max mumbled into his chest.

 

“Oh really,” he said dryly. “Where? The Paupers’ English Dictionary?”

 

“Well at least I didn’t steal anything,” Max retorted, somewhat petulantly.

 

Alec twitched one eyebrow. “You were SQUATTING, Max. You stole the entire apartment.”

 

“Whatever. I’m not sleeping on the floor at the new base. Find me a real bed.”

 

Alec surrendered the pointless argument. “I knew it,” he tsked. “All this time on the outside has made you soft, Maxie.”

 

Max snorted in derision. “This coming from the guy who can’t survive two days without his boobtube.”

 

“Pshaw. Everyone’s gotta have at least one vice, right?” Alec shook his head and chuckled, waving one hand dismissively as he trailed off. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. I’ve got it covered. Furniture, bedding, dishes... the whole nine yards. All the basic necessities of modern living, plus all the little extras we need to live it up in comfort and style.”

 

Max levered herself upright. “Alec!” she protested. “Even the feds’ll guess what’s up if we suddenly start knocking over furniture stores.”

 

Alec sighed. “Maxie, are you forgetting there’s an abandoned town less than five clicks away? Everything we need to set up Freak Nation in comfort is right there for the taking and no one will ever be the wiser. Easy, no risk. The perfect heist. Hell, I’m not even sure it counts as a heist, possession being nine-tenths of the law and all that crap.”

 

“So we’re just gonna wander through their homes and pick out the china pattern we like best?” Max shuddered, repulsed by the mental image that conjured up. “Trust you to come up with that idea. It’s Brain’s apartment on a larger scale. Well, you can just forget it,” she said flatly. “It’s creepy and disrespectful and it’s sooo not gonna happen.”

 

A muscle ticked angrily in Alec’s jaw at her blunt refusal. Fighting his irritation, he managed to keep his voice low and even. “They were Manticore, Max. They kept us slaves. They owe us.”

 

He spoke the truth; harsh and immutable. Max knew this.

 

But equally true were the memories of a warm cabin in the woods; unlooked-for shelter from the harsh Wyoming winter and the even harsher reality she’d fled from through the snow and ice.  _Kind eyes in a worried face. Hands whose touch didn’t bring pain. The warm weight of a woollen blanket around her thin shoulders._

 

“Not all of them were like that,” she protested weakly.

 

Alec shrugged. “The few, the very, VERY few that weren’t won’t begrudge us what we need. The rest don’t get a vote. And who’s in charge of Requisitions, anyway?” he added sullenly, muttering under his breath.

 

Max dropped her eyes, shamed by her reaction and the hurt and rejection visible in Alec’s eyes before he reverted to his usual mask of cool indifference. ‘ _I trust Alec to watch my back. I trusted him to make the right choices and save the world. So why the HELL am I freaking out over furniture?!_ ’

 

She needed to make this right. Needed to put that happy-relaxed-satisfied look back in his eyes; the one that made him resemble the proverbial cat. Taking a deep breath to still the hyperactive butterflies that had suddenly taken up residency in her stomach, she slowly raised her eyes to his. Alec braced his shoulders for another round of ego bashing, but she surprised him.

 

“Okay,” she said simply.

 

“Okay?” His face was a picture of confusion at her sudden capitulation.

 

“Okay.” Max shrugged. “It’s a smart plan. Easy, no risk; just like you said. And we gotta get that stuff from somewhere. So... sorry for... you know, jumping down your throat.” She offered him a shy, conciliatory smile. “I gotta stop doing that. It really is a smart plan.”

 

Mollified, Alec let out a deep breath, expelling his hurt feelings with the stream of air. Max had not only apologized but actually acknowledged the merits of his plan, instead of summarily dismissing him as usual. It eased much of his resentment at her lack of respect for his abilities.

 

“S’ok,” he said softly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I’ve had my share of dumb ones.”

 

Max smiled in relief as the tension between them dissipated. “But nothing in orange,” she warned sternly, wagging her index finger at him. Off Alec’s curious look, she shrugged and said, “I hate orange. And nothing tacky.”

 

“Huh.” Alec blinked. “So our fearless leader’s imposing a moratorium on retro 70s chic?”

 

“Yep,” she agreed, loudly popping the ‘p’. “Consider it banned.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

Alec dipped his head and bit the inside of his cheek to hide his pleased smile. The attempt made him appear shy and bashful. It charmed her because it was entirely unintentional, and she felt a sudden rush of tenderness for the beautiful man beside her. Her hand fluttered over his body, mapping the terrain of his chest and abdomen with the pads of her fingers. Dipping one finger into his navel she swirled it around, making him groan and arch into her touch.

 

In one sinuous move she was astride him, his rapidly hardening cock trapped between his flat abdomen and her pliant flesh. She wriggled in place, felt him swell and stiffen beneath her until the flesh was rigid and hard.

 

“Minx.” His hands automatically settled at her hips, urging her into a gentle rocking motion. His cock nudged her outer folds like a bloodhound, seeking entrance. She sent him a saucy smile and swivelled her hips, using his ridged cockhead to tease her aching clit and coating him from tip to root in her fragrant juices.

 

He reached between their bodies, eager to bury his hard shaft in her welcoming warmth. She playfully batted his hand aside. He groaned her name in part plea, part curse. Canting his hips he thrust upwards, but she moved with him and held her opening out of his reach. Thwarted, his cock bobbed forlornly in the air. He growled in frustration.

 

She laughed throatily. “You want something, baby?”

 

“Yeah. You,” he grunted. “Right now.”

 

She felt his muscles bunch in preparation to flip her over onto her back. Swiftly she clamped her hand around the base of his weeping erection and squeezed. “Yesss,” he hissed at the slight pain, his body arching off the bed.

 

She paused, poised above his body with the head of his cock just kissing her entrance, their eyes locked, her strong hand still pinching him at the root. He forced himself to wait for it. Pleased by his submissiveness, she sank down and took him inside her in one swift manoeuvre. Alec growled; a guttural thrum deep in his throat. His eyes fluttered closed in bliss. She hummed in satisfaction as the pleasure flooded his face.

 

She wanted to keep him like that forever.

 

She worked him slowly, raised her body until just the tip of his cock remained nestled inside her soft folds and then slammed back down until he was buried completely inside her again. He groaned deep in his throat at the exquisite torture, hips arching off the bed to meet each downward grind.

 

His hands skated up her body, fingers counting off her ribs one by one, palms lightly brushing her nipples and making the aureoles crinkle beneath his touch. He cupped her face between his hands and pulled her down into a hard, bruising kiss. He devoured her mouth, his tongue slipping inside to tangle with hers. She kissed him back, matching his hunger and passion and greed.

 

Max pulled away first, gasping for air. Her mouth was dark pink and swollen from his kisses, her eyes heavy-lidded and glassy with passion, her cheeks flushed. The corners of his mouth curled upwards in carnal appreciation at the sight. Fingertips retraced a path down her body, skimming from collarbone to breastbone to navel and finally dipping into the wiry curls at the apex of her things; thighs that gripped his body tight enough to bruise a normal human. She laughed breathlessly, high on the lust and arousal zinging through her veins. Seizing his arms at the wrists, she pinned them to the bed beside his head, holding him captive.

 

Dark brown curls meshed with honey ones as she stretched her body horizontal to his. Her pert breasts dangled enticingly in front of him, too enticing to resist, and he raised his head to capture one aching nipple in his mouth. His tongue lashed the swollen nub, making it hard and puckered.

 

“Harder,” she gasped, her hands tightening reflexively around his wrists and leaving deep crescent marks in his skin.

 

He obliged, nipping and sucking the tender skin of her breasts, blood vessels rising to the surface and bursting in purple rose bruises across her chest. The sight of her dusky skin peppered with his marks made him growl with possessive satisfaction.

 

The low rumble of his growl went straight to her core. She growled back, short and sharp, and clenched her inner walls around his shaft. He bucked helplessly, head thrown back in abandon.

 

Thrilled by her power to make him squirm she did it again; hands and thighs and channel gripping his body with bruising force and dragging a low moan from him. She smiled in delight at the delicious picture he made, pinned and writhing beneath her. His eyes were fever-bright and dark with lust; the pupils dilated to dime-size, leaving only a thin ring of emerald around the black.

 

Alec thrashed on the bed, beyond coherent thought. Every particle of his being was centred on his cock buried deep within her greedy passage and the pleasure she wrung from him. Her inner walls caressed every millimetre of his sensitive skin; hot and tight like wet velvet.

 

Dimly he saw her tongue dart out to moisten her full lower lip and heard her softly murmured, “Giddy-up!” She eyed him hungrily like candy to be devoured at her leisure.

 

A soft growl escaped his lips. He bent his legs, planted his feet against the mattress and used that for leverage to power his thrusts. As quickly as that, the power shifted between them; now he was riding her, hard and fast; his hips slamming into her body in punishing strokes. Sweat slicked their skin.

 

“Alec... yes... harder,” she panted as he pounded into her.

 

The angle of penetration allowed him to hit her sweet spot with every thrust and he worked it hard, corkscrewing his hips at the height of his stroke and making her shudder. He felt a sudden rush of wetness. Her juices seeped from her dripping core, drenching his cock and balls and thighs until their tiny bedroom was redolent with her musky aroma. It was a powerful aphrodisiac to his highly-charged senses; heady and sensual.

 

He drove into her mindlessly, bucking against the hands holding him down. She rode him just as hard, grinding her hips into each thrust, grinding her clit into the root of his erection. They collided somewhere in the middle, orgasm catching them unawares despite how hard they were galloping towards it.

 

His head tipped back, neck tightly corded with the strain. He was so beautiful in his pleasure, so wanton and delicious and HERS, that it flung her over the precipice. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream, breath driven from her lungs by the force of Alec’s final frantic thrusting as he came. Hot spurts of semen washed her womb. She clamped down tightly around him, her entire body shaking with the force of her release.

 

She collapsed in a boneless heap on top of him, breathless and panting. Neither had the energy to think or move. They slipped into post-coital slumber, her hands still lightly clasped around his wrists.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Police Chief Lucas Price held the press conference on the steps of city hall, behind an officious looking podium draped with a banner bearing the Seattle municipal seal. Flashbulbs went off like strobe lights from the mob of reporters. Price dipped his head in silent contemplation then raised it and stared directly into the television cameras. His expression was gravid and solemn as befitted the occasion. When he spoke, his words were slow and measured and filled with dramatic pauses; perfect for sound bites.

 

_“In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Seattle sector police responded to a security breach at the municipal water treatment plant. The body of Special Agent Ames White was discovered by the officers on the premises. We are not releasing details of the cause of death at this time, other than to confirm that Agent White was murdered by one or more assailants. He died a hero in the service of his country, preventing a terrorist attack on the city’s water supply.”_

 

Laughter rippled through the briefing room at Manticore at the unintentional irony.

 

_“Justice will prevail,” Price intoned. “This case is the department’s highest priority. A team of top detectives are working around the clock pursuing every lead. I assure you, the person or persons responsible for this heinous crime will be apprehended and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”_

 

“Yeah,” Mole snorted audibly, “the law of the mob.”

 

Max’s stomach turned queasy; Mole’s words conjured the memory of Biggs’ body strung up by its heels, backlit by the lurid burning ‘X’. Only this time, in her mind’s eye the corpse wore Alec’s face. Silently she vowed to do whatever it took to protect what was hers.

 

Human ‘justice’ would not get a second victim.

 

On screen, reporters began clamouring for Price’s attention, peppering the police chief with rapid-fire questions. One clear young voice carried over the rest.

 

_“Chief Price... is it true the police suspect Agent White was murdered by a transgenic?”_

 

_Price shook his head. “I’m sorry, but we are not releasing any information on the suspect at this time.” Voices rose in a storm of protest; Price raised a hand for silence. “What I can confirm, is that Agent White was killed in the line of duty.”_

 

Price paused, leaving it to his audience to draw the connection between what was said and what was left unsaid.

 

“Aww man,” Dix complained, “why doesn’t he just come out and say ‘yes, we think the freaks did it’? Everybody knows that’s what he means.”

 

“Political doublespeak,” Mole answered, idly flicking ash from his cigar onto the floor. “Weasels ain’t happy unless they’re playing mind games.” He snorted. “No wonder Manticore had us take so many of the little buggers out.”

 

_Price leaned forward, hands lightly gripping the edge of the podium, his expression a masterful blend of earnest and sorrowful. “We are all shocked and saddened by this tragic event. We wish to see justice done. To continue the work that Agent White dedicated his career to preserving -- national security, and the American way of life. But it is incumbent upon me as Chief of Police of our fair city, to repeat his words to the Senate Committee last spring. Transgenics ARE among us. They are dangerous. They are vicious killers. If you have any information on the whereabouts of a suspected transgenic, inform the authorities immediately. Do NOT approach it alone. Even unarmed, transgenics are dangerous.”_

 

“Ohh no, don’t approach the dangerous trannie alone. Take along a dozen pals and have yourselves a piñata party. Roast marshmallows for the kiddies by the light of the burning ‘Xs’. And call in the cops so they can get in a couple of kicks too,” Alec said with bitter, biting sarcasm.

 

“Alec?” Max laid a tentative hand on his forearm. His muscles were tight with the tension humming through his body.

 

Regretting his outburst and unwilling to discuss it, Alec picked up the remote and turned off the TV before turning to face Max. He summoned a bland smile. “Can you believe they interrupted our regularly scheduled programming for THAT? White’s a hero, the cops are on the verge of a breakthrough, blah blah blah. What a waste of time. Though, you gotta admire his ability to deliver complete and utter bullshit with a straight face.”

 

Max frowned and turned away, angry at being shut out once more. Resisting the urge to shake him, she snatched the clipboard with the list of mission personnel and assignments off the table and buried her nose in it instead.

 

“Oh-kaaay.” Alec said, putting his hands up in surrender. He turned to Mole, who was just as intently focused on lighting a cigar as Max was on her clipboard.

 

“Get back here in one piece, pretty boy,” Mole ordered, exhaling a heavy cloud of smoke. “I need more cigars.” His gruff tone masked a genuine concern for the cocky X5.

 

“Is that all I am to you? Just a fetch-and-carry boy?” Alec sighed mournfully and shook his head. “All the romance has gone out of our relationship.”

 

“I have to romance you now?” Mole sputtered.

 

“A little show of appreciation wouldn’t kill you.”

 

“No, but it might make me ill.”

 

“Think of it as an inoculation then.”

 

Unable to endure Alec’s flippancy with Price’s dire words ringing in her ear, Max tossed her clipboard on the table and stomped across the room to join Dix at the computer station.

 

“Dix,” she growled, “are you absolutely positive you can’t access the company records remotely?”

 

The pale nomalie nodded. “Yep. Like I said in the meeting, I don’t have enough equipment here. I can’t monitor sector police activity AND redirect the hoverdrones away from your position AND hack into the company system. That’s why Alec has to run the program manually.” Dix shuffled his feet nervously, unnerved by the irritation visible in Max’s eyes. “Uh, why do you ask? Is there a problem with the plan?”

 

“Is there a problem with the plan?” Max repeated dumbly. She threw her hands in the air. “Was I the only one watching the TV just now? Yes, there’s a problem with the damn plan! Alec shouldn’t be on the streets tonight. He’s wanted for murder!”

 

Dix blinked in confusion. There was nothing in their carefully acquired Intel that suggested the police had identified Alec as White’s killer. In fact, as things stood now, Max was in greater danger than Alec of being recognized and pursued by an angry mob. She was the one with a price on her head and her picture all over town.

 

Max was over-reacting to the threat to her mate, which Dix could understand. It was actually quite sweet. To be perfectly honest, her concern wasn’t entirely unwarranted. The cocky X5 did seem to attract trouble like metal shavings to a magnet. However, Alec was also perfectly capable of taking care of himself in hostile enemy territory. He wouldn’t be Solo Ops squad leader if he wasn’t. For that matter, he wouldn’t still be alive and intact given some of the missions Manticore had sent him on.

 

“Max, the police haven’t released a description of the killer yet.”

 

“Not to the public,” Max countered, “But that doesn’t mean the cops aren’t out there hunting for him.” She shook her head adamantly. “No. No. He’s not going.”

 

“Alec knows what he’s doing,” Dix said loyally. “Manticore trained him to handle assignments like this. It’s his call who goes; his prerogative. Solo Operatives always get mission control. It’s protocol.”

 

“Screw protocol,” Max replied rather ungraciously. “Manticore is gone. We don’t have to do things according to their manual. Get Finn or Reina in here. They’re both Covert Ops too. One of them is replacing Alec tonight.”

 

Dix winced. “Max... are you really sure it’s a good idea to countermand Alec’s mission plan half an hour before deployment? And if you do... maybe you should consider staying behind too.” Dix squared his misshapen shoulders and bravely forged ahead despite the look of fury on Max’s face. “The Norms are hunting for you too, Max. And thanks to White’s publicity campaign, everyone knows what you look like.”

 

Max sagged, knowing she’d lost the high ground. She refused to be left behind tonight just because someone might recognize her face; ipso facto, Alec wouldn’t stay behind either. She bit her lower lip and dropped her eyes, ashamed of herself. Dix was right in his assessment of the situation. She was over-reacting. Alec wouldn’t thank her for pulling rank on him, nor would the rest of the transgenic population. He could take care of himself. Mostly.

 

Resolutely she forced aside the memory of Biggs’ battered corpse. That wasn’t going to be Alec.

 

“...Fine,” she muttered. “But if he gets attacked by an angry mob I’m soo gonna kick his ass.”

 

Dix grinned.

 

“Have a strike team on standby,” she ordered. “Just in case pretty boy gets himself spotted.”

 

Dix’s grin widened. “Mole already ordered one.”

 

“Good. At least somebody’s thinking.”

 

Mentally dismissing Dix, Max turned her attention to Alec and watched as Syl approached her mate and coolly informed him, “You’re an idiot.” Max stiffened at the insult, but Alec just laughed it off good-naturedly.

 

“So everyone keeps saying. Mind telling me why, exactly?”

 

As an answer, Syl cut her eyes to where Max stood across the room. Alec followed her gaze. His expression immediately softened at the sight of his mate. He’d caught Syl’s oblique reference to their early morning conversation yesterday and, as promised, Max was here with her transgenic family, with HIM, and not still in Seattle.

 

“Never so glad to be wrong,” he told Syl, his eyes locked on Max.

 

Max frowned, confused by the cryptic exchange and not at all certain she was comfortable with Alec and Syl having private conversations behind her back. Shaking it off, she yelled, “Tick tock, Alec! Move your ass. Or have you forgotten we’ve got a Job to pull tonight?”

 

 

~*~

 

 

A solitary figure in black sat behind a desk in the otherwise empty offices of Seattle Demolition & Environmental Reclamation, Ltd. The planes of his handsome face were illuminated by the faint glow of a computer screen. He typed furiously, his fingers moving with inhuman speed over the keyboard. He was systematically altering the company’s accounting and inventory records for the last six months to conceal the theft of several of the large, dangerous items in stock. Unlike the smaller items which could be filched with relative impunity, the larger ones would be more easily missed from the shelves; hence, the doctored records.

 

Checking the time on his watch, he grinned. Well ahead of schedule. ‘ _Damn, I’m good._ ’

 

Stage One finished, he covered his electronic footprints and powered down the computer. He stood and walked purposefully across the room to the filing cabinet, his movements unhindered by the dim amount of light that managed to filter through the grimy windows. Bending to his task, he deliberately misfiled a forged purchase order.

 

He smiled to himself, pleased with his own cleverness. The mislaid forms would account for the shortfall in inventory, and the doctored records would assuage any suspicions of theft. Simple clerical error. The police would not be called in to investigate the missing items. No uncomfortable questions would be asked.

 

Stage Two finished, the black-clad figure exited the office, pulling the door shut soundlessly behind him. He crept down the corridor, doubling over at the waist when he reached the security station in order to avoid being seen through the windows in the interior wall that overlooked the warehouse floor. He needn’t have bothered. The night guard’s attention was completely absorbed by the tiny black-and-white television on the desk in front of him.

 

Shaking his head at the guard’s laxness, the figure continued on his way. Time for Stage Three. Leaving the offices behind, he moved out onto the warehouse floor in search of the company’s stocks of dynamite. The warehouse was crammed; the shelving units that stretched from floor to ceiling cast deep, obscuring shadows. He walked cautiously, every sense on alert.

 

Rounding a corner, he encountered three figures dressed in black like himself; two females -- one blonde, one brunette -- and a male. The three thieves were working in tandem to fill several sturdy-looking duffle bags with as many blasting caps and sticks of dynamite as the bags could hold. The brunette looked up and flashed him a smile.

 

“We good to go?” she whispered. Alec nodded.

 

Max nudged him with the toe of her boot. He rolled his eyes but crouched down to help her finish loading the last bag. Syl and Krit carefully shifted the crates so that the loss wasn’t immediately detectable. Done, the four transgenics each hefted a bag and headed towards the half-open window at the rear of the warehouse.

 

Krit slipped out the window first. One by one the others lowered the heavy bags to him and then joined him outside. Alec was the last man out. He pulled the window shut behind him and disconnected the scrambler from the electrical box, re-engaging the security alarm. Meanwhile, Syl, Krit and Max strapped the bags of dynamite into place in the back of a truck between a portable generator and a water-pressure jackhammer.

 

Stretching his arm up, Alec grabbed the cloth loop attached to the bottom of the rolling door and pulled hard. The door slid soundlessly in place on well-oiled hinges. Alec thumped softly on the side of the van and the engine purred softly into life at his signal. Tires crunched on gravel as the van pulled out of the parking lot, headlights off to avoid being spotted.

 

The job finished, the four transgenics turned and vanished into the Seattle night.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Raucous music spilled from the open door of the nightclub, the relentless beat shattering the silence and reverberating off the corrugated steel shutters guarding the various shops and offices that lined the block. The bar was the only source of animation on an otherwise deserted stretch of pavement. Two drunken fishermen staggered out the door, clutching one another for balance and arguing noisily. They reeked of stale smoke, cheap beer, and cheaper perfume.

 

Syl, Krit, Max and Alec halted in the shadows between two streetlamps, waiting for the street to clear. The drunks eyed the transgenics suspiciously through eyes bleary with alcohol. Alec quickly pulled Max into his arms, shielding her from view behind his larger frame. Max raised her face to his and slipped her arms around his neck, surreptitiously tugging the collar of his leather jacket up to cover his barcode. Next to them, Syl and Krit adopted a similar pose.

 

‘ _No dangerous trannies here, boys,_ ’ Max thought fiercely at the two men, watching them from the corner of her eye, ‘ _Just. Keep. Walking._ ’

 

“Get a room,” one of them muttered as they staggered and stumbled their way past the two couples and down the street.

 

Max breathed a small sigh of relief when the two men reached the end of the street and turned the corner. She moved to step away from Alec but he held her fast. Curious, she glanced up at him. His lips were curled into a wickedly sexy smirk. She shivered.

 

Tipping his head in the direction of the nightclub, he asked in a husky drawl, “Hey Maxie... wanna give it another go?”

 

Confused, Max followed his gaze. Her eyes widened at the words “Blowfish Tavern” blazoned above the door to the bar in bright white lettering. Scowling, she pushed Alec away with a sharp elbow to the side. “Pervert.”

 

He dramatically clutched his ribs and staggered to one side. “Ow!” he pouted. “Violence won’t earn you any tips, y’know. It’s a strip joint, not a bondage club.”

 

Syl and Krit eyed Max with identical speculative looks, which she did her utmost to ignore. She stalked ahead of the group, boot heels thumping the pavement in her haste to clear the vicinity. The two curious X5s turned to Alec, who grinned hugely, unable to resist the temptation to push Max’s buttons and wind her up.

 

“Maxie was a lap dancer,” he offered helpfully.

 

Her siblings’ reaction was better than any he could have hoped for. Krit nearly swallowed his own tongue. He glanced from Max to the Blowfish and back again. Wide-eyed and incredulous, his expression was a curious mix of intrigue and queasiness.

 

Syl blinked in astonishment, and then burst out laughing. “Maxie, you naughty girl!” she teased, her lips stretched into a huge grin. “I never woulda guessed my baby sister had it in her.”

 

“I was NOT a lap dancer!” Max stopped walking and whirled around to confront Alec. Embarrassment and outrage stained her cheeks pink. “It was ONE dance. I was undercover. And it doesn’t count anyway because you never paid me.”

 

“You expected to get paid for that?” Alec chuckled and shook his head. “Worst. Lapdance. Ever.”

 

“Maybe I just wasn’t inspired,” Max retorted, stung by the insult in spite of herself, and equally annoyed by the fact that it bothered her at all.

 

“Shyeah,” he scoffed, a devilish gleam in his eyes. “You say that now... but the way I remember it, you couldn’t wait to get comfy in my lap.”

 

“It’s called blending in, moron. Maintaining our cover.”

 

“No,  **I**  was maintaining our cover. YOU were snuggling.” Alec’s lips curled into a knowing smirk and his eyes twinkled with devilish glee. He knew exactly the effect he was having on her.

 

“As if,” Max scoffed.

 

Alec had an insufferably smug expression on his face, and Syl and Krit were staring at her as if she were some strange and exotic creature they’d never before encountered; she felt like an exhibit at the zoo. ‘ _Jerk!_ ’ she fumed, both mortified and angry.

 

“Finally gave you an excuse to put your hands all over my body.”

 

“You are so full of yourself.”

 

“And you love it. Gets you all ‘worked up,’” Alec teased, giving her a sly wink.

 

Max barely restrained the impulse to stomp her foot on the ground and scream like a child. So what if Alec pissed her off and turned her on and made her feel alive? So what if he could make her insides melt and her knees go weak with one knowing look? So what if he was the first male – aside from her brothers, who obviously didn’t count – who could match her on every level?

 

Did he seriously expect her to admit it when he was acting like a complete and utter jerk?

 

Growling, she threw a punch at his head, which he dodged. Back-pedalling out of range, he ducked for cover behind Syl and Krit.

 

Max darted to the left around her siblings. Alec went the other way, carefully keeping her siblings between himself and Max. She glowered at him, furious and red-faced. Alec just grinned. They circled the two X5s; once; twice; three times.

 

In frustration, Max faked left then pivoted and charged to the right. Again, Alec effortlessly slipped past her outstretched hand, laughing gleefully. “See? You want me,” he teased, unable to stop from twisting the knife one more time. “Can’t keep your hands off me.”

 

Enough was enough.

 

“Arrgh!” Max lunged down the middle, nearly barrelling through Krit in her haste to get to Alec, but he neatly sidestepped her grasping hands and took off running down the alley. Max growled and gave chase.

 

Syl laughed and shook her head fondly as the couple retreated into the distance. Linking her arm through Krit’s, she hauled him down the street past the strip club.

 

“Next time we hang with those two, I want popcorn,” she announced.

 

 

~*~

 

 

They raced through the empty streets, two shadowy figures weaving through the patches of light and darkness thrown by the streetlights, their laughter floating on the breeze. Deep in some nameless, shadowed alley, Alec stopped abruptly and pivoted on one heel, catching Max as she crashed headlong into him. He spun and flung her into the nearest wall. She gasped as her back collided with unyielding brick. He moved swiftly to intercept, planting his hands on the wall to either side of her head and effectively trapping her there.

 

Max could feel the heat radiating off his body. His eyes burned in the dim light cast by the street lamp at the mouth of the alley. Leaning in, he kissed the corner of her mouth then gently nuzzled her cheek with his.

 

“I win,” he whispered into her skin; his voice low and deep and rough, like whiskey and caramel. Melted chocolate. Liquid sex. Her breath hitched in her throat.

 

Turning her head, she brushed her lips across his. He cupped her face, fingers tangling in her hair, thumbs tracing erotic circles on her cheeks, and her arms came up and wrapped around his waist and pressed their bodies tightly together, and then they were kissing passionately, mouths fused and tongues entwined.

 

“Alec,” Max breathed into his hungry kisses, “stop, I gotta go.” She splayed her hands across his chest and pressed, but not hard enough to actually push him away. Alec took that as permission to continue.

 

“Seriously Alec, I, ohhh,” Max gasped in pleasure as he lightly bit the sensitive spot behind her ear, “not now... I gotta go.”

 

“Hmmm,” he murmured into the soft flesh of her throat. “You. Me. Bed. Sounds like fun.”

 

“No... just me. I, I hafta track down Clemente.”

 

That caught his attention. Alec stilled his ministrations and raised his head and stared at her, his forehead crinkled in confusion.

 

Max shrugged. “I have to talk to him. I need to know if he’s on our side. Because if he won’t help us out then we’ve gotta find somebody else who will. And fast.”

 

Alec actually laughed at that. “What’s he gonna do, Max... give them a traffic ticket? He’s a city cop. Not exactly large with political power.”

 

“He’s got enough power to arrest you for murder unless we can convince him the cult’s not a hoax!”

 

Alec snorted and rolled his eyes in disbelief. “Nobody’s throwing my ass in jail. Finn snatched the security feed from the water treatment plant. All they’ve got is some grainy hoverdronefootage of the five of us jumping from a Black Hawk. There’s no hard evidence linking me to the murder.”

 

“DNA evidence--”

 

“--can only prove I was there,” Alec interrupted. “By itself, it’s not enough to prove that  **I**  killed White. Why do you think I drowned the bastard?” The question was clearly rhetorical; Max didn’t bother to respond. Alec twisted his lips in a self-satisfied smirk, shrugged, and added casually, “And if it comes to that, I say we pin it on dear ol’ brother Ben. He’s already on record as a serial killer. Plus, I figure he owes me one.”

 

Max pulled a sour face but conceded Alec’s point; laying White’s murder at Ben’s feet would not sully her brother’s memory any more than it already was. And it just might save his twin from a lethal injection. Or worse.

 

“Jeesh. Have a little faith, Maxie,” Alec chided, his light tones masking his pique. “I am X5, y’know. The cops’d have to catch me first.”

 

“They already caught you once, dumbass! And very easily too, I might add.”

 

“I didn’t know they were hunting for me,” Alec countered. “You didn’t bother to let me in on the sitch.” Glowering angrily, he peeled his body off of hers and retreated a few steps.

 

Max rolled her eyes in annoyance, but winced internally. ‘ _Alec’s right. I prolly shoulda warned him,_ ’ she mused guiltily. ‘ _But, baby, I’m gonna make sure they never come after you again,_ ’ she promised.

 

Flipping her hair over her shoulder with studied nonchalance she said, “I gotta jet. Get back to base. And don’t do anything stupid. No strip bars, no pool, no pizza, no detours. Just get yourself home without anyone putting a bullet in you.”

 

“But Maaax... who’s gonna hold my hand when I cross the road?” Alec protested in a high-pitched little boy’s voice, his eyes wide in mock fear. He even made his chin quiver for good effect.

 

“Cute. Real cute.” Max rolled her eyes. She turned to leave but was stopped by the gentle pressure of Alec’s hand at her elbow. He regarded her intently, his head tilted to one side and his brow furrowed in genuine curiosity.

 

“You’re putting him at risk,” he said quietly. “Sharing Intel with Clemente makes him a target.”

 

‘ _I know that,_ ’ she retorted mentally. ‘ _I’m not an idiot. Risk Assessment was part of basic training, y’know. But... there’s no other way._ ’ She breathed deeply, teeth gritted against the guilt churning in her stomach. Too much was at stake to let compassion rule her decisions.

 

“He’s a cop,” she said coldly. “He puts his life on the line every day to help people. Why not for us?”

 

“That’s cold.”

 

“Maybe,” Max shrugged. She kept her expression carefully blank. “It’s also true. And besides, the cult’s not going to go after him.”

 

“Why the hell not?” Alec demanded. The cold, callous girl before him was not his Maxie. His hands itched to take her by the shoulders and shake the missing life – and unwavering sense of morality – back into her; he shoved them deep into his jean pockets instead. “Max... you can’t keep a group like the breeding cult hidden for over 5000 years without being ruthless and dangerous and very, very good at covering your tracks.”

 

“Clemente’s not a big enough threat to them to bother going after,” she argued, dismissing Alec’s observation with a casual wave of her hand. She had to believe that was true; it she let herself think otherwise, even for a minute, she didn’t know if she could go through with it.

 

“Then why even bring him into this?” Alec pointed out reasonably. “What’s he gonna do for us?”

 

“He can help,” Max insisted. ‘ _He can help me keep your ass safe!_ ’

 

“How?”

 

“People need to know the truth.” Logan had her convinced of that a long time ago.

 

Alec shook his head in exasperation. ‘ _The girl’s got an entire army at her disposal. What’s with the lone crusader routine?_ ’ Aloud he said, “The RIGHT people... yeah. The ones with power. The same ones we can’t trust with the truth because we don’t know if they have an unholy love for snakes! Max... the patented Eyes Only, power-to-the-people, the-truth-is-out-there routine is not going to solve this. This is not a corrupt mayor with ties to the mob. We can’t run a public service bulletin asking people to vote them off the island. We don’t even know who ‘they’ are!”

 

“So we do nothing and let the world go on thinking WE’RE the bad guys?!”

 

‘ _Who cares if they do? The world’s NEVER going to accept us.’_  Alec sighed and absently rubbed his temple with the antenna of his cell phone. “Say we do get the truth out there and people actually believe us. What then? Yeah, they’d probably use us to take down the cult. But they’re NOT going to welcome us with arms wide open afterwards.

 

Nothing we do now changes what we are or what we’ve done. We’re still the biggest threat to the human world. We represent billions of dollars of R & D; the absolute best in biosynth weapon systems. That makes us a VERY valuable commodity on the arms market.... Max, what happens when a foreign power offers us asylum for services rendered? Have you even thought about that?”

 

“We wouldn’t,” Max gasped in protest, “we’re AMERICAN soldiers.”

 

“For full asylum? Guaranteed protection under the law? Yeah, I think some of us just might be tempted.” Alec shook his head. “No, Max. As far as the federal government is concerned, they’ve got three options. Control us, contain us, or... exterminate us.”

 

“No. NO!” Max shook her head in frantic denial, making her hair dance around her face. “It doesn’t have to be that way. Look at Normal. He was practically the poster boy for xenophobia and now he’s on our side!”

 

“Because it was US. Because he knows us. Because they tried to kill us in front of him and they didn’t care if he got caught in the crossfire. Not because he woke up one morning and had an epiphany.”

 

“One person CAN make a difference,” she insisted stubbornly. “Just one. If they’re willing to stand up and try.”

 

“Or hide behind a pretty striped Halloween mask,” Alec muttered under his breath.

 

She fixed him with a challenging, tight-lipped stare. “You got a better plan?” Alec grit his teeth but held his tongue. Max took his silence as negation. “Didn’t think so. The cult’s still out there, Alec. I can’t NOT try to fix this. Someone’s gotta make the hard decisions. And I guess that someone’s always gonna be me.” Turning abruptly on her heel, she stalked off down the alley.

 

“One of us is,” Alec whispered softly to her retreating back, too softly for even her genetically enhanced hearing to catch.

 

 

~*~

 

 

“Heya, Dix.”

 

Dix smiled and turned in the direction of his leader’s voice. Alec was slouched in the doorway of the briefing room, one leg casually crossed over the other at the ankle, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. To the casual eye, the X5 appeared relaxed and at ease, but Dix could see the tension he was under in the stiff set of his shoulders.

 

“Hey, Alec. You’re back early. Mole figured Max would have you two on the Needle till dawn.”

 

Alec shrugged. “So how we doing?” he asked, tipping his head in the direction of the security monitors that lined one entire wall.

 

“All quiet on the home front. So far nobody seems to suspect we’re here.”

 

“Good. Keep your fingers crossed the Ordinaries stay ignorant and oblivious for just a little longer.”

 

“No kidding.” Dix shuddered. “I really don’t want to get burned out of house and home again. Not fun.” He craned his neck to peer around Alec into the corridor. “Uh, is Max here with you?”

 

Alec rolled his eyes. “Nope. She’s still out on her public relations kick.”

 

He and Dix shared a wry grin. Max had been on her own for so long, she had gotten out of the habit of thinking of herself as part of an army; hence her plan to convert a bit player like Detective Clemente to their cause rather than targeting the enemy directly.

 

“Why? What’s up?”

 

“The wet works team returned about a half hour ago. I stashed them in your office, just in case she was around.”

 

“Smart thinking,” Alec agreed. “That’s not a conversation I wanna have anytime soon.”

 

Dix bobbed his head vigorously in agreement.

 

“You got anymore names for me?”

 

“I dunno yet. Maybe. I’m tracking a couple of old college buddies of Ames. One’s a records clerk for the Supreme Court; the other is an analyst for the D.O.D. I should have confirmation of their status in a day or two.”

 

“You’re the man, Dix.” The shy nomalie blushed at the rare praise. “Keep me posted.”

 

“Will do, Alec.”

 

Yawning, Alec levered himself off the wall and trudged down the corridor towards his spacious corner office. Dix stared after him thoughtfully, then shrugged and turned his attention back to confirming the religious affiliation of the two potential targets.

 

The two solo operatives were slouched in their seats and chatting idly when Alec entered the room. One was a lanky blond; the second dark and swarthy; both were dressed casually in jeans and t-shirts. They immediately leaped to their feet and snapped to attention. He sighed audibly.

 

“Don’t give me the mindless automaton routine,” he complained, waving them back into their chairs, “I’m not that bitch Renfro. For one thing, I’m much better looking.”

 

They obediently sat, but their spines remained ramrod straight. Alec sighed again. Old habits died hard, especially when his office still stank of Renfro’s perfume. He deliberately flopped into his chair and leaned backwards, resting his laced hands on the top of his head and stretching out his long legs under the desk.

 

“So boys... how was New York?”

 

“Target acquired, sir.”

 

“Any trouble?”

 

“Negative. In and out; no witnesses.”

 

“Are the cops gonna be sniffing around the body?”

 

They both grinned in pride. “No, sir.”

 

“Good. That’s real good. That’s what I wanna hear.”

 

Neither transgenic could suppress a grin of pleasure at the rare praise.

 

“Go get some rest,” Alec ordered, “I’ll be sending you out again in a couple of days. In the meantime...” he leaned down and retrieved a bottle of scotch from the bottom drawer of his desk and tossed it overhand to them, “...drinks are on me.”

 

“Cool.”

 

“Go on, get outta here.”

 

Alec’s good cheer faded as soon as the door closed behind the two operatives. Unzipping his leather jacket, he pulled out a special late night edition of the Seattle daily newspaper and tossed it on his desk. The front page headline screamed at him, ‘Transgenics Suspected in Brutal Killing of Government Agent!’ He sighed and buried his face in his hands.

 

Deploying assassins after the remaining members of the breeding cult was, tactically at least, the right decision. Take the enemy out first. Protect the mission. It was what he’d been trained to do by Manticore.

 

He strongly doubted Max would approve of his methods. She’d been tainted by Logan’s idealism, his belief in moral and ethical absolutes. By those standards, a premeditated strike seemed too much like murder. Alec snorted. All too clearly he remembered her horrified reaction when he first proposed killing White, the scientists responsible for the virus, and anyone else connected with the breeding cult’s plan for world domination. ‘ _We don’t have to solve everything with a bullet!_ ’ she’d argued.

 

‘ _No,_ ’ he chuckled grimly, ‘ _some things can be solved quite nicely with a carefully staged accident._ ’

 

His brief attack of gallows humour faded. Max’s idealism was part of what drew him to her in the first place and he admired her for it, but those ideals were impractical given the reality of their situation. Refraining from killing the enemy because you refused to sink to his level might be noble, but it also meant he was left alive to stab you in the back later. They were at war. Normal standards of human behaviour simply no longer applied.

 

No; lethal force was the only way to contain the threat posed by the cult. It had to be done. He knew that. His was a much more effective long-term solution than hers. And yet...

 

Max would be furious with him if she ever found out. She would despise him for going behind her back; for proving himself the cold blooded killer she once accused him of.

 

She might never forgive him. She might leave him. But he refused to be that man again; the one who could selfishly turn on his own kind. The mission came first. His FAMILY came first.

 

It had to.

 

Even if it cost him Max.

 

Angrily, he swept his arm across the surface of his desk and knocked the newspaper into the garbage.

 

“Someone’s gotta make the hard decisions.”

 


	20. Chapter 20

The moon was full and heavy and riding high above the scraggly line of trees that marked the boundary of the Seattle rail yard. Everything was muted in that diffuse silvery glow; colours were washed out to grey and the hard edges of the boxcars were rounded and blurred.

 

Max crouched in the inky black shadow thrown by a freighter. The sound of off-key humming drifted to her ears on the breeze. Dropping to her knees, Max peered under the carriage of the boxcar, gauging the night guard’s progress on his rounds by the bobbing light from his flashlight.

 

She stifled the urge to yawn. Dodging one merely human guard didn’t pose much of a challenge to her specialized skill set. Ames White may have been a lot of things – not much of it good – but at least he was a worthy adversary. Cunning. Resourceful. Tougher than human.

 

After several long minutes a pair of jean-clad legs stepped into her field of vision. Metal rattled loudly as the guard tugged on the door handle. Satisfied the door was locked and secure, the guard moved on down to the next boxcar in line.

 

Max listened for several long minutes until the humming faded from her enhanced hearing and then raised her hand in signal. Shapes detached themselves from the nearby shadows and advanced on her position. Within seconds, Max’s nimble fingers had the lock picked and the door open. Transhumans of every conceivable size, shape and description began to hop into the boxcar, their worldly possessions strapped to their backs.

 

The interior of the boxcar was dirty; the air dry and stale. Bulky wooden crates partially filled one end. Max pulled a face in sympathy. Not exactly first class accommodations. It was, however, the safest mode of transportation. The inhuman-looking nomalies were just too conspicuous to risk travelling by truck convoy; too vulnerable to random searches at municipal border checkpoints. At least with freight trains, once the cargo was loaded and the doors sealed, the boxcars weren’t opened again until the train reached its final destination.

 

Two days ago the survey team had returned to Manticore and confirmed that Alpha Site was a go. And just in time, too. Manticore was too close to Seattle to serve as a secure base. As much as she would miss her adopted city, even Max could admit it was time to get the hell out. Seattle was a powder keg.

 

Ballistics had confirmed that the five murdered employees from the water treatment plan were shot by the semi-automatic rifles the police found on site. GSR tests had confirmed the hands that wielded the guns belonged to the two unidentified soldiers found dead in the hallway outside the tank. DNA testing had proved conclusively that both men were human.

 

The public was up in arms; convinced the corrupt police force was concealing transgenic involvement in the slaughter. There had been rioting in the streets all week.

 

Police Chief Price was livid. Max chuckled softly to herself, remembering his reaction. Price ordered three different labs to run the analyses but the results came back the same each and every time. The killers were indisputably human, not transgenic.

 

The official police investigation was now focused on identifying the origins and affiliations of the two unidentified men in black, at Detective Clemente’s insistence. The hunt for the transgenics was no longer the taskforce’s priority.

 

‘ _Maybe I should get Clemente a case of motor oil as a thank you,_ ’ Max mused. ‘ _He really came through for us; got the cops off our scent._ ’

 

A hand on her shoulder abruptly snapped her mind back to the rail yard. Max whipped around to see Joshua’s mournful eyes staring back at her. She frowned. “Why so gloomy, Big Fella?”

 

Joshua shrugged and lowered his eyes. “Wish you and Alec were coming too. Joshua don’t like being away from family.”

 

“Me neither,” Max answered with a sad smile. “But Josh... You know why I can’t come with you right now. I have to do this.”

 

Joshua nodded reluctantly. “So family can be together. Safe.”

 

“Exactly.” Max laid a gentle hand on his arm and tried to catch his eye. “Joshua, I promise you the detour won’t take us long. Alec and I will be at base camp before you know it. A week; two tops. You’re not even gonna have time to miss us.”

 

Joshua smiled sadly and folded her slender form into his arms. Max burrowed into his body, her head tucked beneath his chin, and breathed in deeply, memorizing his scent. Just in case.

 

In her experience, separations were seldom temporary.

 

“Stay safe, Big Fella. Keep your head down.”

 

Joshua nodded. “Max take care of Alec.”

 

“Don’t I always?” Max said with a tolerant smile. “It’s practically my full time job.”

 

“Alec take care of Max.”

 

Max rolled her eyes. ‘ _Why do all the men in my life think I need someone to take care of me? I’m a kick ass female, damn it! I take care of myself._ ’

 

Joshua gripped Max by the shoulders, his hands heavy and urgent. “Max strong. Alec strong. But Max and Alec... stronger.”

 

There was a pause, then a soft “Yeah.”

 

Flinging her arms around him once more, she hugged him tightly. He whimpered softly. “It’s just a detour,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll see you soon.”

 

“Soon.”

 

Joshua hopped into the boxcar. Their eyes met and held as she slid the door shut, sealing him inside. She refused to look back as she walked away from the train.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Logan was waiting for her in the deserted parking lot of an abandoned restaurant a few blocks from the rail yard. He was slumped against his battered Aztec, a Styrofoam coffee cup tightly gripped in both hands, trying to warm his thin fingers with its feeble heat. He took a sip, his nose crinkling in distaste at the bitter brew.

 

Max smiled fondly at his expression. Frankly she was amazed to see him drinking coffee, knowing his predilection for designer blends. This part of town wasn’t exactly known for its upscale cafes.

 

“Hey,” she called.

 

Startled, Logan whipped around to see Max standing by the back bumper of his car. To his human senses it seemed like Max had just materialized out of nowhere.

 

Max smiled a satisfied feline smile; catching Logan unawares was something of a pastime of hers.

 

“Hey, Max. Aren’t you cold?” he complained, eyeing her thin t-shirt and jean jacket. He was shivering despite his heavy nylon jacket; his narrow shoulders hunched against the damp and the drizzle.

 

“Nope,” Max laughed. Thanks to her altered physiology she was less affected than him by the damp chill in the air, although she did hate the rain. Cats weren’t terribly fond of water.

 

Grumbling to himself, Logan reached through the open car window and extracted a thick manila envelope. Max took it from him gingerly, taking great care not to let their bare skin brush. Inside she found everything she would need for the mission – identity papers, sector passes... even a map. She raised an eyebrow at that one, but let it go.

 

“Thanks,” she said simply and stuffed the envelope in her jacket pocket.

 

“You’re welcome,” Logan replied. ‘ _How many times have we done this before?_ ’ he wondered idly. ‘ _How many deserted lots, how many forged papers?_ ’

 

“You ever notice we do this a lot?” Max asked, inadvertently echoing his thoughts.

 

Logan shrugged. “All for a good cause.”

 

“Yeah.” Shrugging casually, she changed the subject. “Word on the street is the cops can’t figure out who popped Ames because forensics drew a blank.”

 

DNA evidence taken from White’s body was inconclusive. No epithelials or transgenic blood was found in the wounds, since both she and Alec had wisely worn gloves. There were a few stray hairs but none with skin tags. Nothing to prove White’s attackers were other than human. Nothing to identify Alec as his killer.

 

“So I heard,” Logan agreed blandly.

 

Max grinned. “How’d you pull that off, anyway?”

 

Logan shrugged dismissively. “A lab tech owed Eyes Only a favour.”

 

“Well, thanks for cashing in. Every cop in America would’ve been gunning for Alec if you hadn’t worked your magic.” She shivered at the thought. ‘ _Not gonna happen,_ ’ she promised herself fiercely.

 

Logan glanced away, reluctant to meet her eyes. “I didn’t do it for Alec. I did it for you,” he admitted in a low voice. “You were in that fight too.”

 

Max opened her mouth then closed it again, unsure whether to feel grateful or angry. Shouldn’t Logan have helped Alec, not for her sake but because it was the right thing to do? Because that was what Eyes Only was all about? Or was it unfair of her to expect her ex-boyfriend to respect her current one? Confused, she pushed the unwanted questions out of her mind. Logan had helped when she asked; ‘why’ was irrelevant. Alec was safe. Nothing else mattered.

 

“Still... thanks,” she finally said. “I owe you one.”

 

He turned to face her, shaking his head in denial. “No you don’t. I’ve still got your back.”

 

“I know,” she replied sadly. “That means a lot.” And it did. She had nothing to offer him, not even her services as Eyes Only’s own personal cat burglar, and still he came through for her.

 

There was an awkward pause, both finding it difficult to speak so they kept silent together. Logan broke it by asking, “You sure you don’t want me to expose White and the cult?”

 

“Logan, we’ve been through this before,” she replied impatiently. “This war is ours. It’s the reason Manticore exists. We’ll handle this OUR way. It’ll get done. Trust me. We’re not letting those bastards go. And anyway... who would believe the truth? White is practically up for sainthood.”

 

“I could blacken his reputation,” he offered, only half joking. “It doesn’t have to be the truth.”

 

Max looked shocked that he would suggest such a thing. Logan winced internally, afraid he had just tarnished himself in Max’s eyes. He never wanted her to look at him and see someone devious and ruthless. Someone who would go to any lengths to achieve their ends. Someone like Alec. He was better than that.

 

Max shook her head. “Don’t bother. The public won’t thank you for stripping away their illusions. They want to believe White is a hero; THEIR hero. They don’t want to see his flaws. And if you force them to, they’ll turn on you. And us.”

 

Abruptly cutting herself off, she turned away from him, her attention riveted on the far side of the parking lot. A half-smile formed on her lips. Logan peered into the dark, wondering what could put that happy, expectant look on her face.

 

Of course. He should have known.

 

Alec stalked towards them in a smooth and predatory glide that Logan couldn’t help but envy. He had never been that graceful even when he had full use of his legs.

 

Alec advanced on Max, ignoring Logan utterly. He stopped so close to her that their knuckles brushed. Max unthinkingly linked their fingers. Logan scowled and looked away. Max froze; caught between hurting Alec if she pulled away and Logan if she didn’t. Alec sighed. He squeezed her hand once and then released it. Max shot him a grateful smile. It was all the thanks he needed.

 

“Any problems?”

 

“Nah,” Alec grinned. “Dix threatened to ration Mole’s cigars. Mole threatened to rip off his arm and beat him with the bloody stump. You know... the usual.”

 

Max groaned.

 

“Don’t worry,” Alec said reassuringly. “Dix can keep Mole in line.”

 

Indeed, the shy nomalie was one of the select few whom Mole would defer to. The other being Alec himself.

 

The two transgenics shared a private smile. Both seemed to have forgotten Logan’s presence. He cleared his throat loudly.

 

“Logan, ol’ buddy!” Alec greeted the older man with fake cheer. “Listen... thanks for scuttling those DNA tests for me. Seriously. You really came through for me. Makes me feel loved knowing I’ve got a friend like you in my corner, watching my back.”

 

Logan ground his back molars together. Alec’s words were sincere but the mocking glint in his eye was not. The X5 knew perfectly well why the older man had helped, and it had nothing to do with Alec or what was right and everything to do with the fiery brunette standing between them. Those weren’t the actions of the kind of man Logan prided himself on being, and he hated Alec just a little for forcing him to admit it.

 

Alec smirked, watching Logan squirm. Logan did it for Max. Logan knew it; he knew it; and what’s more, Logan knew he knew it.

 

It shouldn’t have hurt. It wasn’t the first time that protecting him from exposure was just a side-effect of someone protecting Max. Original Cindy’s dismissive words to him the day Sketchy snapped a photo of one of the nomalies still stung. Alec fought to keep his expression from turning sour.

 

 “You’re welcome,” Logan muttered ungraciously. Dismissing Alec, he turned to Max. His expression softened. “Call me when you get there.”

 

“Logan,” Max protested, “it’s not safe.”

 

“Just call. Let me know you’re okay.” Max hesitated. His eyes bored into hers. “Please. Don’t leave me wondering if you’re alive or dead – again.”

 

“...Okay.”

 

“Be careful.”

 

Max smiled sadly. It hurt her to leave him behind... but not as much as it probably should. They had said goodbye so many times already.

 

Logan fixed Alec with an intense, brooding stare that was part plea, part command. The unspoken message was clear: ‘ _I’m entrusting her to you. Take care of her._ ’ The younger man dipped his head once in acknowledgement. He could afford to be magnanimous. He got the girl.

 

And then there was nothing left to say.

 

Logan retreated to his dilapidated vehicle, surrendering the woman he loved to another man’s care. He risked one backward glance as he pulled out of the parking lot. Alec whispered something in Max’s ear that made her laugh. She leaned into his body, her back pressed flush against his chest. Alec hugged her from behind, his hands linked over her stomach. Max lightly rested her hands on his. Their casual, intimate familiarity made Logan’s heart ache to see it.

 

It would never be him.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Dawn found the X5s pulling into a cheap roadside motel about an hour south of Portland. Max collapsed facedown on the bed, exhausted from the tension and stress of the past week. She hadn’t slept in days; too long for even her peculiar system.

 

But they were in the clear now – away from Seattle; away from the National Guard and the police and vigilantes out for blood. Alec was safe. She could finally rest.

 

The musty green bedspread beneath her cheek reeked of stale smoke. It made her want to sneeze. She scrunched her nose, too weary to lift a hand to scratch it.

 

Eyes closed, she tracked Alec’s progress through the room with her ears. Two muted thumps as his boots hit the floor near the door; the rustle and slither of leather as his jacket was dropped into the arm chair in the corner by the window; the dull clink as his Glock and cell phone were laid on the bedside table. The mattress sagged slightly under his weight when he sat on the edge of the bed by her hip. He watched her in silence for several seconds and then poked her in the ribs with one finger.

 

“G’way,” she muttered, burying her face in the pillow. “Tired.”

 

“Poor little kitten.”

 

Alec rubbed his hands together briskly to warm the skin and then began to massage her tense shoulders. His strong thumbs dug into the knots at the base of her neck, easing the tension from her stiff muscles.

 

“Hmmm,” she sighed contentedly. “Feels good. Don’t you dare stop.”

 

“Oh yeah? What’s my incentive?”

 

“Stop and I’ll kick your ass.” The threat lacked any convincing bite.

 

“Oooh, baby likes to play rough,” he teased.

 

“Later,” Max sighed, and slowly turned to putty beneath his sure hands and strong fingers. Alec methodically undid the kinks in her spine and worked every tense muscle in her back until she was boneless and half asleep.

 

He chuckled softly. “Look at you. All limp and floppy.” Picking up her limp right arm by the wrist, he held it up for inspection. It dangled weakly in his grip and flopped back onto the mattress when he let go. He shook his head. “Can’t fight anything with arms like noodles.”

 

Max mock-glowered at him out of the corner of her eye, too relaxed to exert the energy needed to raise her head and fix him with the full power of her stare. “Your fault. Shut up.”

 

“Ohhh, scary threats from the big pile of goo.” Alec’s upper lip curled in an evil smirk. He rolled Max’s unresisting body onto her back. She went easily, as pliant as a sleepy kitten. He leaned over her, one fist on either side of her prone body. A smile hovered on his lips. “Guess who gets to have his wicked way with you now?”

 

Max shivered, but not in fear.

 

Alec slowly lowered his head. His warm breath brushed her cheek. Her whole body tingled in anticipation of his kiss. Just before their lips connected, he winked and began to tickle her instead. Max shrieked with hysterical laughter. She wriggled and squirmed and swatted at his hands in a feeble attempt to avoid his twitching fingers, but Alec knelt over her on the bed and tickled her mercilessly, intimately familiar with her sensitive and vulnerable spots.

 

“No, don’t... Alec! ... Stop it! That’s... cheating,” Max gasped between giggles, laughing almost too hard to form the words. “I’m... warning you... Stop that... right now! Alec!”

 

Grinning, Alec ignored her protests and kept up the torture until she was breathless from laughing. She was adorable. He drank in the sight of her – eyes bright, cheeks flushed, chest heaving as she panted for air – and committed it to memory. He cupped her face in his palm and gently brushed his thumb across her cheekbone. Dipping his head, he kissed her.

 

Max melted into the kiss. It was gentle and intense and it made her skin tingle. His tongue flicked out to tease her lower lip. She smiled under his mouth and parted her lips in invitation. He complied, his tongue dipping into her warm mouth. She tasted so sweet. Tangling his hands in her hair, he kept her mouth fused to his.

 

Her hands roamed over his strong back, gripped his broad shoulders and gently caressed his barcode, her blunt nails lightly scratching the highly sensitive skin. He groaned and deepened the kiss, plundering her mouth. Eagerly she clutched fistfuls of his shirt and pulled him down to lie on top of her. He stretched his body over hers, crushing her into the mattress with his weight. She felt safe and protected like that, pinned between the soft mattress and his hard body.

 

Her head spun dizzily. Though she never wanted to stop kissing him, oxygen was rapidly becoming an issue. Panting, she broke the kiss and smiled at him. He smiled back at her; a soft, boyish smile instead of his usual smirk. The smile he reserved just for her.

 

She drew breath to speak and then hesitated. Her smile faded and the oddest expression came over her features. Head tilted to one side, she stared blankly up at him without seeing him. Almost as if he wasn’t even there. Alarmed, Alec reared back.

 

“Max? What’s wrong?”

 

“Déjà vu,” Max replied cryptically. She raised one trembling hand to her lips. “Don’t you remember? You kissed me. Just like this. Exactly like this.”

 

“And you freaked.” Alec’s eyes darkened with pain at the memory of her reaction. Her rejection. “You practically spat out the taste of me.”

 

“Trust me, baby... I’m over it.”

 

Max hooked her arms around his neck and pulled herself upright to capture his mouth with hers. His lips were soft and pliant. Hesitantly, almost reverently, she swept her tongue along his lips and then gently sucked on his lower lip. His arms snaked around her waist; his hands at her lower back pressed their bodies closer. He parted his lips to her probing tongue and she gratefully slipped inside his mouth. They sank down to the bed, locked together in a deep, passionate kiss.

 

Craving skin on skin contact, she tugged his t-shirt out of his jeans and slipped her hands beneath the hem. The material bunched in her hands as she traced the line of his back from waist to shoulders. Alec obligingly pulled the shirt over his head. Max’s breath hitched in her throat at the sight of his bared chest. Toned muscles; unblemished golden skin. He was physical perfection.

 

Alec quirked a smile at her frank appraisal. “Like what you see?”

 

Max licked her lips. “More than like,” she whispered huskily.

 

Desire welled in the pit of her stomach, flaring into life like a signal fire, the flames jumping from nerve ending to nerve ending. There was a heavy wetness between her thighs; an empty ache just begging to be filled by him. Only him.

 

Alec groaned; the blatant look of desire in Max’s eyes made his cock throb with need. He quickly divested Max of her top and bra, peppering her neck and shoulders with soft open-mouthed kisses.

 

She hooked her fingers into his belt. “C’mere.”

 

Alec claimed her lips in a slow, drugging kiss. She could feel his arousal through two layers of denim; it pressed against her leg, hard and urgent. She rolled her hips, making him growl. In retaliation, he flicked one hard nipple with his nail, making her hiss and arch into his touch.

 

Rolling to his side, he propped his weight on one bent elbow. His free hand drifted up her body to cup her breast in his palm, his thumb brushing over the pert rosebud nipple. It tightened under his caress. Dipping his head, he laved the other, neglected nipple with the flat of his tongue. She moaned softly and pressed her hand to the back of his head and held him to her breast. He grinned against her skin and began to work his magic.

 

He traced spirals around the soft curve of her flesh with his tongue, making the areola crinkle. She whimpered as he took the nipple in his mouth then moaned as his teeth scraped the delicate skin. At her other breast, his fingers alternated between gentle pinching and hard tugging.

 

Raising his head to look at her, he smiled at the delicious picture she made. Her eyes were closed, her full lower lip caught between her teeth, and her free hand clutched the bedding. “Open your eyes,” he commanded.

 

She complied slowly, her gaze hazy and heavy-lidded. Keeping his eyes locked on hers, he lashed the nipple with the tip of his tongue before taking it into his warm wet mouth and sucking hard. He felt her body quiver; she was so responsive, so eager for him. It drove him wild. His hand played at her other breast, deft fingers rolling and twisting the pebbled nub. Her breathing was harsh and ragged and she gasped when he bit the sensitized flesh. Every pull and pinch, every lick and suck and bite sent a twinge straight to her core.

 

“Like that, do you?” he asked, her nipple sliding from his mouth with a soft ‘pop’. “You want more?” She nodded eagerly. “Uh uh uh,” he tsked, a sly smile on his lips. “What’s the magic word?”

 

Max raised her head and growled at him. “Now.”

 

Alec chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.” Rising to his knees, he ghosted his hands over her body, pausing briefly to palm her breasts before moving down to her waist. He popped the button of her jeans and undid the zipper. She raised her hips and he peeled the jeans off her legs, leaving her clad only in her panties.

 

Stretching out on the mattress beside her, his weight braced on one forearm, he trailed one finger lazily over the crotch of her panties, feeling her wetness soak through the sheer fabric. She eased her legs further apart, opening her body to him, urging him to touch her. Chuckling to himself, he continued to tease her through the damp material.

 

Her nerves were on edge at the teasing sensation, making her yearn for more and growl in frustration when he held off. Impatiently she moved to take off her panties herself, but he batted her hands aside.

 

“What’s the rush?” he whispered huskily, his breath ghosting across her skin. “We’ve got lots of time.”

 

“Alec...” she whimpered, her breathing ragged, “don’t tease.”

 

“Shh baby, I’ve got you.” Hooking his fingers in the waistband of her panties, he pulled the scrap of material off her body, leaving her naked and exposed to his hungry gaze. Max shivered. Alec’s eyes were almost black with need and desire. He gazed on her as if she were his whole world. It made her heart race and her blood pound.

 

One of his hands slowly drifted up her flank and over the curve of her hip and down her flat belly into her coarse curls. Max spread her legs wide, granting him access to her core. He stroked the sensitive skin, delving between the folds and circling the hard bundle of nerves above her entrance. She arched her back and wriggled in silent encouragement. Her clit was distended and engorged with blood and so very, very needy. He tapped it with one finger, making her gasp and shudder.

 

Twisting his hand around, he cupped her mound, his palm pressed against her clit. Two fingers slid easily inside her opening and he hooked them upwards to stroke her sweet spot. Her muscles clamped down, holding his fingers in place. She rocked her hips forward, riding his hand.

 

He took her breast into his mouth and sucked, his tongue rolling over and around the taut nipple. His tongue felt like wet velvet against her sensitive skin. She climaxed with a gasp and a wordless cry, her entire body spasming. He continued to stroke her softly as the aftershocks rolled through her.

 

Opening her eyes, she reached down and palmed his hardness through his jeans. He groaned his approval, his hips bucking forward. She gave him a squeeze and felt him twitch in her hand even through the heavy denim. “Too many clothes,” she whispered.

 

He scrambled from the bed, making her pout at the loss of contact. Swiftly he yanked off the rest of his clothes, tossing them haphazardly to the floor until he stood before her completely naked. His cock jutted proudly from his body, hard and flushed with blood, clear pre-cum weeping from the head. While she watched he grasped it in one hand and stroked it from root to tip, twisting his palm over the head.

 

Her eyes darkened at the erotic sight. Looking at him coyly from beneath lowered lashes, she crooked one finger at him and beckoned him to join her on the bed.

 

He fell on her, kissing her hungrily. She kissed him back; mouths fused and tongues tangled. Her legs automatically parted to let him lie between them. He shimmied his hips as he settled his weight on top of her, grinding his hardness into her softness. She whimpered and clutched at his broad shoulders. Her breasts pressed against his chest, the hard buds of her nipples brushing his skin with every breath. He nuzzled her neck and planted soft feathery kisses into the shell of her ear and along the line of her jaw.

 

Bracing his weight on one forearm, he let his hand roam down her body. Her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. “No,” she gasped, shaking her head, “don’t wanna wait. Want you inside me now.”

 

Growling, he positioned himself at her opening, kissing her deeply as he slowly entered her body, pushing in inch by inch until he was fully seated. He laid his forehead on hers, his entire body shuddering as he fought for control. It was always this way; Max was so warm, so soft and slick and welcoming, it threatened to undo him entirely.

 

She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles together behind his back, taking him even deeper. He began to thrust, slowly at first, then harder and faster. She took him in and met his every stroke, over and over, their hips colliding in a primal rhythm.

 

They kissed fiercely, tongues and teeth clashing. Claiming one breast with his fingers, he kneaded the soft flesh, pinching and teasing the nipple. He felt her body shudder as her breath hitched in her throat. Her small hands roamed over his body, stroking his flanks and back, feeling the muscles bunch and flex beneath her hands as he pounded into her willing body.

 

He was so close; he could feel the familiar tightening at the base of his spine. Moving one hand down between their bodies, he pinched her clit. She keened his name, her fingernails digging into the skin of his back as she came hard, her inner walls spasming and clamping around his shaft. Eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back, he followed her into orgasm; his entire body straining as he pumped his seed into her. They clung together, riding out the aftershocks.

 

Breathing hard, he collapsed on top of her, his face buried in the crook of her neck. Worried he was crushing her into the mattress, he summoned the energy to roll over onto his back. She rolled with him, her head tucked beneath his chin and her cheek pressed to his chest above his thudding heart. Sated, they drifted off to sleep.

 

 

~*~

 

 

This early in the morning, Seattle PD was nearly deserted. Occasionally the sounds of a scuffle at the booking station would drift up the stairs into Homicide but for the most part the building was silent. Detective Ramon Clemente sat in solitude at his battered wooden desk in the corner between the coffee maker and the window. He stared fixedly at three 8 by 10 glossy photos spread across the surface of his desk. The photos were taken from the autopsy reports on Agent White and the two unidentified male DBs found at the water treatment plant that morning. Each photo was a close-up of the strange mark branded into the men’s right forearm.

 

A modified caduceus, located precisely where Max claimed it would be.

 

IF the men were members of the alleged breeding cult.

 

IF such a thing even existed.

 

He didn’t know what any of it meant; didn’t know what to believe or who to trust. Coincidence? Conspiracy? Delusion? Deception?

 

Sighing he leaned back in his chair and ran it through in his head one more time in the hope he might shake something loose from the jumble of facts and suppositions; rearrange the puzzle pieces into something coherent.

 

Agent White had a brand on his forearm. That was fact.

 

The two unidentified male bodies bore the same mark. That was also fact.

 

Max claimed the mark was the symbol of an ancient breeding cult out to purge the planet of humanity. That was an allegation from a potentially unreliable source.

 

The two unidentified men were responsible for the deaths of the plant employees. Again, fact. Forensics had confirmed it. Max was innocent of that crime, if nothing else.

 

The men were most likely soldiers. That was interpolation based on physical evidence – they were dressed head to foot in body armour and toting semi-automatic rifles. Not exactly the dress code of the neighbourhood Block Watch.

 

The presence of the brands suggested a connection between Agent White and the soldiers. A working relationship, perhaps? Unlikely given that neither man was registered as a soldier with the US military. That was fact; he ran their prints through Codas and came up blank. So either they were government Black Ops or they belonged to an illegal paramilitary group.

 

Which brought him back to the alleged breeding cult.

 

Clemente sighed heavily and scrubbed his tired eyes. He didn’t know what to think and he hated it. Always had; even as a little boy. His drive to uncover the truth was what made him a good cop.

 

Good cops followed every lead, even the sublime and the ridiculous. This, however, went beyond just another high profile murder case. This was out of his league. Clemente could admit that to himself. He had no idea how to investigate Max’s allegations or what kind of hornets’ nest he might stir up if he tried.

 

Shaking his head, Clemente reached behind him for the coat hanging on the back of his chair and fished a folded sheet of paper out of the pocket. The paper bore a single name and phone number. He stared at it for several seconds.

 

The phone rang four or five times before the line finally picked up. Voice mail.

 

‘ _Figures._ ’ Clemente debated just hanging up, but his need to uncover the truth nagged at him like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

 

“Agent Gottlieb, this is Detective Ramon Clemente from Seattle PD. We need to talk. I have some... information... regarding Agent White’s death that you may be interested in.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

By nightfall, the X5s were in northern California. Max immediately availed herself of the motel hot water tank and ran a bath. Alec stretched his legs out on the bed, his back propped against the headboard. He listened to the faint splashing sounds coming from the bathroom, and smiled. He pictured Max in the tub, her caramel skin glistening in the candlelight, one slim leg rising out of the carpet of bubbles, toes pointed towards the ceiling as she dragged a washcloth from her ankle down to...

 

‘ _Focus, soldier!_ ’ he ordered himself, forcing the delectable mental image aside. ‘ _The mission comes first, playtime later._ ’ Grabbing his laptop from his bag, he connected to the internet using his cell phone and logged onto a secure chat room. Within moments, Dix joined him.

 

"How’s it going?" he asked the pale nomaly.

 

"We’re good. Discipline is tight. Moral is high."

 

"Good. Wouldn’t expect any less."

 

"I’ve got two more names for you."

 

"Already," Alec asked, surprised. "Is the trip really that boring?"

 

"Well, we don’t exactly have a panoramic view. Not much else to do unless I want to lose all my cash to Mole playing poker."

 

"Sorry we couldn’t send you first class."

 

"I’m not complaining. It’s still better than the basement at Manticore."

 

"Right. So what have you got for me?"

 

"I’m transmitting the data now. One is a biochemist, works on disease vectors. Guess who he studied under when he was a grad student."

 

"Dr. Theodore Cross."

 

"Bingo."

 

“Damn it!” Alec swore aloud. This was not good news. "And the second name?"

 

"A surgical intern at a hospital in Miami."

 

"Dispatch a team to eliminate the biochemist and toss the lab. Take out anyone else who might have had access to his notes, cult or otherwise. We can’t risk the cult manufacturing more of the virus. Next time they might not wait for religious timing to plan their attack."

 

"Got it. And what about the surgeon?"

 

"Speciality?"

 

"Pediatrics."

 

"No," Alec ordered. "Not now. We don’t have the resources to go after every target. We’re stretched too thin on the ground as it is. We need to concentrate our efforts on eliminating the greatest threats first."

 

Alec paused then added thoughtfully, "There’s a line we shouldn’t cross, Dix. If the cultists are a threat to national security, or us, then we take them out. Otherwise they get a free pass. We’re not the SS. We don’t kill indiscriminately on the basis of religious conviction."

 

Alec laughed softly to himself and shook his head. Apparently Max’s morality was contagious. Sandoval would be so disappointed in him.

 

Maybe Max wouldn’t entirely disown him, if she discovered what he was up to.

 

"Tag the intern for monitoring," he ordered.

 

‘Tag’ meant full electronic surveillance. If the intern was a sleeper agent –- like the nurse at Harbour Lights Hospital in Seattle who attacked Max -– then they would know about it the second she was activated and a team would be mobilized to intercept.

 

"Done."

 

"You got any more leads?"

 

"Not at the moment but I’m going to widen the search parameters, try to triangulate White’s records with the other targets’. Hopefully that will shake a few more names loose. The more links I can find, the easier it’ll be to backtrack to their HQ."

 

"Way to go, Dix. I knew I you were the man for the job."

 

"You can count on me, Alec," Dix replied earnestly. "I won’t let you down."

 

Alec could practically see the nomalie beam with pride. He smiled to himself. Positive reinforcement was such a powerful motivator; Manticore was foolish not to make better use of it. Well, Alec had learned from their mistake. He took every opportunity to praise his soldiers and they worked even harder for him because of it.

 

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of water draining from the tub. He quickly logged off and was watching TV by the time Max emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam. She sashayed across the room clad only in a towel, her hips swinging enticingly. Alec didn’t notice; his attention was entirely on the TV, his head bobbing in time to the music video blaring out of the tinny speakers.

 

Scowling, Max grabbed clean clothes from her bag. Turning her back on Alec, she missed the appreciative look he sent her way when the towel dropped to the floor, and his gaze was back on the TV by the time she turned around again.

 

A knock on the door interrupted her sulk. “You guys decent in there?” Syl asked.

 

“Unfortunately,” Max grumbled, glaring at Alec over her shoulder as she opened the door to admit her sisters.

 

“Hey, Maxie. Hey, Alec,” Syl said cheerfully. She marched straight into the middle of the room. Jondy hung back on the perimeter, feeling uncomfortable and out of place.

 

Alec grunted a reply without looking up from the video playing on MTV.

 

Syl raised an eyebrow. “Has he ever met a TV he doesn’t like?” she asked Max.

 

“Nope.” Max glared at Alec. “Sometimes I think he likes the damn thing more than me.”

 

Alec didn’t react until Syl smacked him on the back of the head.

 

“Huh?”

 

“You’re an idiot,” she informed him coolly. “Still.”

 

Alec jumped off the bed and stalked towards Max. “Baby, you know you drive me crazy.” He cradled her head in his hands, palms cupping her face, and kissed her deeply, his tongue sweeping her lips before plunging into her mouth.

 

Max gave into the kiss, slanting her mouth over his. Their tongues tangled together. Alec had completely forgotten their audience, so intent was he on kissing her senseless. Without warning, Max pushed him away. He blinked in surprise, suddenly realizing he was standing outside their room. He hadn’t even noticed Max manoeuvring him out the door Jondy had so obligingly left open.

 

All three girls smirked at him.  Syl grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and passed it to Max who handed it over to him.

 

“It’s girly time,” she informed him. “Go make nice with my brothers. Go to a bar, do the male bonding thing. Get drunk together. Just not too drunk, because I’m sooo not nursing your hangover in the morning. And don’t start a bar fight. And for god’s sake... don’t get shot.” She shut the door on him before he could voice a protest.

 

Dazed, Alec turned around to see Zane and Krit snickering at him, having witnessed the entire scene from their vantage point in the parking lot.

 

“First I’m in trouble because I’m not jumping her. Then I’m in trouble because I am.” Alec rolled his eyes heavenward. “Women.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

The Fish Hook was housed in a long, single-story, worn-down wooden building on the edge of town. It catered to a rough crowd – the men who worked the local cannery and fishing trawlers. The interior was dim and smoky and reeking of stale beer. An old-fashioned bar ran the length of one wall; wooden booths lined two more. Rickety tables and chairs filled the centre floor space. A pool table, a battered juke box, and a couple of dart boards constituted the entertainment.

 

Alvaro Delgado sat alone at the bar, nursing a pint of cheap beer. On the surface he looked like any other labourer out for a drink after work – his heavy work boots were scuffed, his jeans were torn and dirty, and his faded denim shirt was worn with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and the top three buttons undone. But there was something different about Alvaro; something that prompted the other bar patrons to give him a wide berth.

 

Maybe it was the lines prematurely etched into his young face by guilt and grief. Or maybe it was the suppressed rage that seemed to radiate off him like a fever. Whatever the reason, he was left alone.

 

He preferred it that way.

 

He only came to the Fish Hook to toast the memory of the best man he had ever known -– his elder brother, Jose Emmanuel Delgado. Jose was brutally murdered in the woods outside Los Angeles two years ago.

 

Alvaro raised his glass in a silent toast.

 

Behind him the door to the street opened, letting in a gust of sea air. Notices tacked to the bulletin board rustled and flapped in the sudden breeze. Alvaro raised indifferent eyes to the mirror behind the bar... and froze.

 

Staring back at him was the face of the Devil Himself.

 

His brother’s killer.

 

*

 

Alec paused on the threshold and scanned the interior of the bar with a trained eye. Within seconds he had identified all possible egress points and assessed the threat level of everyone in the room. It was obviously a slow night. A few of the tables at the back of the room were occupied, there was a rowdy group of friends gathered around the dart boards and a loner at the bar, but otherwise the place was empty.

 

Nothing he and the two Niners couldn’t handle, if the crowd decided to turn ugly. Satisfied, Alec let himself relax and moved further into the bar.

 

Glancing sideways at Zane and Krit, he tried to picture the three of them sitting down at a table to chat and failed. Dismally. ‘ _Wrong twin._ ’

 

Zane and Krit weren’t his friends and they certainly weren’t his family. Not that he had anything against any of Max’s siblings. But Alec was painfully aware that every time they looked at him, they wished he was someone else. It was there in the way they stared hungrily at him when they thought he wasn’t watching, only to look away guiltily when he caught their eye. It made him feel like a thief; an impostor in his own body.

 

The cheap knockoff.

 

Alec hated that feeling of being judged and found wanting -– he’d had more than enough of that from Manticore. He wouldn’t even bother talking to the Niners if it weren’t for Max.

 

He sighed and shook his head. ‘ _Aren’t I the well-trained puppy? Maxie says jump and I immediately ask how fucking high. I was never this quick to obey my TAC officers, even back when I still believed in Manticore. God, what IS it about her?_ ’

 

The answer was simple... everything.

 

Max was everything. She made him believe. In himself –- again. In something bigger than himself. In her. And he would do anything to make her happy. Even make friends with the Niners.

 

“You fellas up for a friendly game of pool?” he asked, cocking his thumb at the table. At least a game would fill the uncomfortable silence between them.

 

Krit nodded, looking vaguely relieved. “Sure. Your break.”

 

Zane shrugged. “Guess the first round’s on me then.”

 

As if on cue, the waitress -– a tired-looking bottle blonde on the wrong side of 50 -– appeared at Zane’s elbow. “What’ll it be, boys?”

 

“A pitcher of draft,” Zane ordered. “Whatever’s on tap.”

 

“Scotch,” Alec interjected. “Straight up, no ice.” If he was going to bond with Maxie’s brothers, he wanted something a lot stronger in his stomach than watered-down beer.

 

*

 

Cold horror washed Alvaro’s bowels. He’d seen this man before -– two years ago, in another life and another city. Three days later he was summoned to the city morgue to identify his brother’s body.

 

They never found Jose’s teeth.

 

Alvaro shuddered, remembering his brother’s gaping, bloodstained mouth.

 

Jose hadn’t deserved to die the way he did -– alone and running for his life, chased through the woods by a madman. He was a good man; loyal, hardworking, devoted to his family and strong in his faith.

 

No; he hadn’t deserved to die like that.

 

He hadn’t deserved to die.

 

Alvaro struggled to draw breath. He felt like he was underwater; like a giant weight had settled on his chest and was slowly crushing the life from his body. After Jose’s murder he had uprooted his mother and younger siblings and brought them north to escape the memories. A fresh start.

 

Somehow the Devil had found him again.

 

Alvaro sat glued to his barstool in horrified disbelief, watching through the mirror as the Devil played pool, laughing and joking and drinking as if he had a right to be here in this bar, among decent people.

 

His laughter burnt into Alvaro’s soul, mocking his pain.

 

Alvaro groped blindly at his neck for the crucifix he always wore and muttered a quick prayer for guidance under his breath. As soon as his skin touched the cross, the crushing pain in his chest lightened and he could breathe easily again. Alvaro immediately understood.

 

God had led him here. God had brought him face to face with the Devil for a reason.

 

Alvaro bowed his head. He would serve as the instrument of God’s divine justice. And he would not fail.

 

*

 

Two scotches and a three pool games had mellowed Alec to the point where he was actually relaxed and enjoying himself. So Zane’s comment caught him completely off guard.

 

“Alec... Maxie said you never got a chance to meet Ben. That’s gotta suck, not knowing anything about him. If it were me, I’d have a million questions. I know Maxie doesn’t like to talk about it, but if you’ve got questions or if you just wanna talk, Krit and I... we don’t mind. Ben was our brother, and we miss him too.”

 

“Questions. About Ben,” Alec repeated. He laughed hollowly. “Yeah. Sure. When Lucifer takes up hockey.” Bending over the pool table he lined up his shot and let fly with the cue, striking harder than he intended to. The white ball careened around the table wildly.

 

The two brothers shared a blank look.

 

It pissed him off. All his life it seemed like everyone wanted to know about Ben. Who was he? Why did he do the things he did? What made him tick?

 

And now he was supposed to ask the same questions he’d been tortured over? The words came pouring out before he could think.

 

“I don’t want to know about Ben. I don’t want to know how sweet he was when you were kids. I don’t want to hear about how he tucked you in at night and told you bedtime stories to keep the monsters at bay. HE was the monster! I got sent to Psy Ops TWICE because of him. I lost a year of MY LIFE because of the things HE did. Trust me when I say I don’t want to know ANYTHING about my ‘dear brother’ Ben.” Alec spat the name out like it was poison, his expression twisted and bitter.

 

“Twice?” Krit said hesitantly, his face etched with confusion. “What... what do you mean, twice? Why would Manticore...? I mean, once after we... after the escape, yeah, alright, I get that. But why twice?”

 

‘ _Shit._ ’ In his bitterness Alec forgot; forgot that they didn’t know. Max had never told them what his twin had done to Timothy Ryan and 10 other people. Never told them what she had to do to stop him from killing again. Never told them the price HE had paid for sharing Ben’s genes.

 

And he couldn’t tell them either.

 

“Forget it,” Alec muttered. “It doesn’t matter anyway.” He tossed his pool cue on the table and drained his scotch in one long swallow. “I’m going back to the motel,” he said over his shoulder as he stormed off. “Have fun, boys.”

 

*

 

With a cold smile, Alvaro stood and followed Alec out the door, fingering a slim length of metal in his pocket as he walked.

 

*

 

Alec stood in the silence and shadows of the alley behind the bar. In the distance he could hear the ocean lapping at the wooden pilings of the dock. Tipping his head back, he stared blankly up at the night sky. He concentrated on breathing deeply, in and out, in an effort to quell his bitterness and anger and jealousy.

 

He thought he’d dealt with this a long time ago. It was all in the past -– Ben was dead; Manticore was gone. It shouldn’t still have the power to affect him. It made no sense. But obviously the old feelings were still there.

 

‘ _God damn you Ben!_ ’ he snarled. ‘ _Even from the grave you’re still fucking with my life._ ’

 

He was so caught up in his inner turmoil that he failed to register the human at his unprotected back. The knife slammed into him, piercing his kidneys.

 

“For Jose, you filthy murdering bastard!” Alvaro hissed in Alec’s ear.

 

Alec gasped and arched his body, trying to escape the source of the pain. The knife was lodged deep in his body; it felt like it might split him in two. Reacting on instinct, he struck back with an elbow to the gut in an effort to dislodge his attacker.

 

Alvaro stumbled backwards but somehow managed to keep a hold of the knife. It ripped a long ragged gash in Alec’s side as he wrenched it loose.

 

Alec pressed a shaky hand to his lower back. He could feel his life’s blood pouring from the wound. Sticky and warm, it trickled down his side, coating his skin, his clothes; dripping onto the pavement at his feet.

 

The pain was intense; blinding; burning. It would have felled a human. Fortunately -– thanks to Manticore -– Alec was other than human. His training took over. Walling the pain off in his mind, he concentrated on his attacker.

 

Shorter and stockier than Alec, he was 200lbs of solid muscle -– the kind of bulk built up from years of unrelenting manual labour. A cannery worker, judging by the stains on his jeans. He was almost incandescent with rage. That kind of adrenaline pumping through the human’s system, combined with Alec’s sucking knife wound, levelled the playing field between them.

 

Alec had to finish this -– quickly and quietly.

 

“Eye for an eye,” Alvaro snarled, spittle flying from his lips. He waved the knife at Alec. The blade was coated with blood. His blood. Alec couldn’t take his eyes off it.

 

“Murderer!” Alvaro screamed. “You think I don’t know what you are, what you’ve done? You murdered my brother! And then you butchered his body! You’re not human; you’re a monster. A filthy, soulless beast. You belong to the devil. You deserve to burn in hell, and I’m going to send you there!”

 

He sprang at Alec, knife raised for the killing blow. Alec watched it descend toward him, arcing through the air. Bringing his arm up, he grabbed Alvaro’s wrist and squeezed with all his enhanced strength. He felt the delicate bones grind and crack beneath his fingers. Alvaro howled at the pain. He thumped Alec in the chest and kicked him in the leg in a vain attempt to loosen the transgenic’s hold on him. Alec grimaced but refused to let go. The knife fell from his nerveless fingers. Alec kicked it away. It skittered noisily across the pavement and collided with the far wall.

 

The pain flared in Alec’s gut from the exertion; excruciating waves of agony that radiated out from his wound, sapping his strength. He swayed on his feet, clumsy from shock and blood loss, his vision greying around the edges.

 

Alec gritted his teeth. He refused to submit. He survived Psy Ops; he would survive this.

 

He refused to die for his brother’s sins.

 

Alvaro backed off, panting heavily, his wounded wrist cradled to his chest. His eyes were wild, psychotic; his teeth bared in a grimace. “Jose,” he whispered.

 

He lunged at Alec, throwing a clumsy left hook. Alec deftly caught the fist in his hand, stepped under Alvaro’s guard and slammed his elbow into Alvaro’s face. Alvaro went down on one knee, blood streaming from his broken nose. He punched Alec hard in the stomach, making him gasp as fresh agony welled through his body. Summoning his flagging energy, Alec grabbed Alvaro’s skull by the hair and rammed his face into his upraised knee. Alvaro keeled over backwards, unconscious.

 

With the fight over and his attacker subdued, the pain burst out of the confines of the mental box Alec had locked it in. It threatened to swamp him until there was nothing left but agony. Alec swayed dizzily – his legs were weak, his vision blurry. Staggering backwards, he slumped against the back wall of the bar, breathing heavily and clutching his wound. His hand came away slick with blood.

 

He was losing too much blood, too fast. The knife must have hit an artery. Field training told him he’d bleed out without immediate medical attention.

 

Alec steeled himself and pushed off from the wall and took a few unsteady steps, aiming for the back door to the bar. The pavement slipped and rocked traitorously beneath his feet. He stumbled on the uneven ground and fell sideways against the wall, biting back a gasp of pain as the impact jarred his side.

 

Suddenly Krit’s face swam into his vision. His strong, slim hands –- so much like Max’s -– were at his back, pressing against the wound. He called Alec’s name, but Alec’s tongue was too thick to answer.

 

The world spun. Alec felt pavement beneath his back. Krit and Zane loomed above him, looking alarmed. He shivered; he was so cold. He couldn’t feel his hands, or his feet.

 

His grip on consciousness weakened, his vision faded to black, and he knew no more.

 


	21. Chapter 21

For somewhere people were meant to spend long hours sitting and waiting, the hospital waiting room was an uncomfortable and uninviting place to be. The chairs were moulded orange plastic; hard and unyielding. The walls were painted that peculiar shade of green that was meant to be soothing but was really more nausea-inducing than anything else. Staff hurried by, barking orders in loud urgent voices. The sharp smells of disinfectant and blood hung heavy in the air.

 

Max was oblivious to it all. She sat perched on the edge of her seat with her clenched fists in her lap, gnawing nervously on her lower lip. She radiated tension. Her attention was focused unwaveringly on the large swinging doors leading to the ER trauma room. She barely even blinked.

 

Jondy and Zane flanked her, their arms wrapped loosely around her waist. Syl and Krit stood together against the far wall, their clasped hands dangling by their sides.

 

Krit gave Syl’s hand a gentle squeeze. She smiled wanly at him and laid her head on his shoulder, drawing strength and comfort from his presence. She sighed. Sometime in the last few weeks Alec had wormed his way into her affections. Losing him now would hurt unbearably.

 

‘ _Alec will be alright. He’s always alright. He’ll recover. He’s strong. He’ll be okay._ ’ Max chanted the refrain over and over inside her head. She knew it to be true. After all, SHE was up and running and fighting off White the day after getting shot in the gut. Okay, so it was really more like staggering and getting her ass thoroughly kicked, but the point was that she was up and mobile in no time. Alec would be too.

 

Transgenics were built for survival. What didn’t kill them couldn’t keep them down, and generally only pissed them off. Alec would be back to his cocky, sarcastic, smart-mouthed self in no time.

 

So why were her hands trembling?

 

The trauma room doors abruptly swung open. Through the gap she could see the doctors and nurses huddled around Alec working frantically to repair the damage and close the wound. Their hands were stained red with his precious lifeblood. He lay deathly still on his stomach on the operating table; his normally golden skin blanched white from blood loss; his face obscured by an oxygen mask.

 

One of the doctors shifted position, briefly granting Max a glimpse of the horrible ragged gash in Alec’s back. She whimpered and instinctively recoiled backwards into her siblings’ comforting embrace.

 

Jondy held her baby sister close, offering what comfort she could. If, in a place deep inside her, she was pleased that Max turned to her the way she always had when they were kids, she wouldn’t admit it out loud.

 

A nervous-looking young woman stepped through the open door of the trauma room. The sleeves of her yellow scrubs were splotched and stained a lurid crimson colour.

 

Max half rose to her feet, her lips parted in a demand for information, and then sank back into her chair with an air of defeat when the girl’s age and obvious inexperience registered. Max immediately dismissed her from mind. ‘ _Just a med student. Won’t know anything useful._ ’ Returning her gaze to the doors, Max tuned her senses to the activity inside.

 

The med student hesitated on the verge of speaking and then smiled apologetically at Max and ducked her head. She scurried off down the corridor clutching a vial of blood in her hand.

 

Syl’s bleak expression lightened. At last, something constructive she could do. She hated sitting around helplessly while one of her own was in danger. Alec was family; Syl would do whatever she could to keep him safe for Max.

 

Pushing off the wall, she stalked after the med student. ‘ _Thank God Alec lasered his barcode off before we left Seattle. The last thing we need is for the surgeon to twig to his transgenic status and refuse to finish the job._ ’

 

The med student hurried down a long corridor, almost tripping over her own feet in her haste to get to the hospital lab. She skidded to a stop at the wicket, plunked the vial down on the counter, and snatched up an order sheet.

 

“Trauma case,” she announced importantly. “Type and cross and---”

 

“---Add it to the pile,” a bored voice interrupted. “I’ll get to it when I get to it.”

 

The med student glanced down at the counter. Four other blood samples and two urine samples lay waiting for the technician’s attention.

 

“But my patient’s in surgery right now,” she protested. “He needs a transfusion and we don’t know his blood type.”

 

“That’s what O Neg is for, innit?”

 

“But, but it’s URGENT!” she stammered uncomprehendingly.

 

The technician -– a buxom African American woman dressed in painfully bright fuchsia scrubs -– stared impatiently at her from over the tops of her gold half-moon glasses. “Sugah, there’s alotta doctors on this floor waitin’ on test results, and only one ah me. I don play favourites. I’ll get to it when I get to it.”

 

The med student chewed her lip nervously, her hand hovering over the counter. Squaring her shoulders, she defiantly placed Alec’s blood sample at the top of the pile before turning and marching back towards the ER.

 

Syl grinned at the girl’s spunk. Dropping to a crouch she retied her shoelace, her hair sliding forward to conceal her face. The med student passed her position without even noticing the X5.

 

Once the corridor was clear, Syl strolled past the counter and deftly swiped both the blood sample and the order sheet. The technician never even looked up from her computer screen. Grinning, Syl slipped both purloined objects inside her jacket and hurried down the hall in search of the nearest woman’s washroom.

 

Meanwhile back in the waiting room, Max continued to stare unblinkingly at the trauma room doors. Her voice shattered the thick silence.

 

“Is he dead?”

 

It was almost the first thing she’d said since Krit’s frantic phone call from the ambulance. Her siblings exchanged helpless looks.

 

“Is he dead?” Max demanded again, a little more forcefully.

 

“Of course not, Maxie,” Zane finally said, awkwardly squeezing her shoulder. “Alec is X5. He survived 20 years inside Manticore. If all the shit they put us through couldn’t take him down, something like this isn’t going to.”

 

Max shot him a look that spoke volumes, none of it complementary. “Not. Alec.” She enunciated each word as if talking to a slow and rather stupid child. “The bastard that did this to him.”

 

Zane grimaced and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The transgenic nation couldn’t afford exposure or a massive manhunt. So he did what he had to do; what Zack would have done. Didn’t mean he had to like it.

 

The wild accusations the Ordinary had spewed at Alec replayed inside Zane’s head in an endless loop. This wasn’t just a random attack by a trannie-hater. This was personal vengeance for a murdered brother. Zane sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did he have the uncomfortable feeling there was more to this story than just another Manticore-sanctioned assassination?

 

Max swung her head around to catch Zane’s eyes. Hers glittered dangerously. “Is. He. Dead?”

 

Zane nodded grimly. “I took care of it, Max. He won’t be causing any more trouble.”

 

Max bared her teeth in a feral smile. “Good.” Satisfied, she resumed her staring contest with the trauma room doors.

 

And the deathwatch continued.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Detective Clemente sat on a wooden bench next to a dock pond in an empty park, feeling like a cliché out of every spy novel ever written. Agent Gottlieb came striding out of the early morning mist, grey trench coat flapping around his legs. Clemente rose to his feet to meet him. Otto stopped just out of arms’ reach. He flashed his badge; Clemente did the same. Niceties observed and their respective identifies confirmed, the two men eyed one another warily.

 

“Your message said you had information for me regarding the death of Agent White,” Otto began.

 

“Yep.” Clemente fingered the mini disc in his pocket. Max’s warning rang in his ears, ‘ _Don’t trust ANYONE with the Intel until they roll up their sleeves first._ ’ He held up one hand to stop the flow of words from the NSA agent.

 

“Before we get into that, would you take off your coat and roll up your sleeves please.”

 

“Excuse me?” Otto stared at Clemente, his forehead furrowed. Whatever he was expecting the detective to say, that wasn’t it.

 

“Take off your coat and roll up your sleeves,” Clemente repeated calmly. “I need to see if you’re clean.”

 

“You think I’m wearing a wire?” Otto asked incredulously.

 

“Something like that,” Clemente replied cryptically.

 

Shaking his head, Otto shrugged out of his coat and draped it over the back of the bench. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his white dress shirt, exposing his sternum to the detective’s perusal.

 

“Sleeves too, please.”

 

Otto grunted at the odd request but complied, pushing both sleeves back to his elbows. Clemente let out a relieved sigh. No brand; Agent Gottlieb was clean. Quickly he peeled off his suit jacket and started rolling up his own sleeves.

 

“Can we get down to business now?” Otto demanded, somewhat peevishly. “You called this meeting. Why? What’s this about, Detective?”

 

“You saw the autopsy report on Agent White, correct?” Otto nodded. “I had to be sure. Agent White had a mark on the inside of his right forearm -– a modified caduceus. You don’t.” Clemente exposed his own forearms. “Neither do I.”

 

Otto raised one sceptical eyebrow.

 

“Trust me, it matters. Or at least it matters if you believe what’s on this disc.” Clemente pulled the mini disc from his pocket and handed it to Otto.

 

Otto eyed it suspiciously. “What’s this?”

 

Clemente shrugged. “I dunno. Could be a hoax or a wild conspiracy theory. Could be the world’s most elaborate red herring. But maybe it’s the truth.” He shrugged again. “You tell me.”

 

“Is the identity of Agent White’s killer on that disc?”

 

“No, but the motive is. My source claims it’s proof about who was really behind the terrorist attack on the water treatment plant.”

 

“Is your source reliable?”

 

“Honestly... I doubt it. But she hasn’t lied to me yet and she’s had ample opportunity.”

 

Otto sucked in a deep breath. “452,” he whispered.

 

“MAX,” Clemente corrected. “Her name is MAX.”

 

Otto looked startled at the vehemence in the detective’s voice but swiftly covered it up. He couldn’t afford to alienate the detective; this might prove to be the lucky break they needed in the hunt for the transgenics.

 

“Well I’ll need to talk to Max directly,” he said, lightly emphasizing her name.

 

Clemente snorted derisively. “Good luck with that. I don’t know how to contact her. The last time we talked, she jumped out of the shadows at me. THAT,” he said, pointing to the disc,” was left in my car in the parking lot at Seattle PD headquarters, in broad daylight. No one saw a thing.”

 

Clemente stood. He stared down at Otto, who was turning the disc over and over in his hands, his expression pensive.

 

“For what it’s worth, I think I believe her. It’s crazier than all hell, but there are just too many coincidences otherwise. And if it is true...God help us all.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

The hours crawled by like days. After what felt like an eternity, the ER trauma room doors swung open and a gurney containing a pale and unconscious Alec was rolled out. Max leaped to her feet. She moved forward eagerly, only to find her way blocked and a firm hand on her arm restraining her from following. The body temperature of the hand was several degrees cooler than an X5’s, the grip not as strong. It felt wrong, somehow.

 

Max discretely shrugged the hand off and reluctantly turned her eyes from the gurney to the surgeon in front of her. He watched her patiently; a compassionate smile graced his features. Her heart constricted painfully in her chest.

 

Good news or bad?

 

“Miss Guevara?”

 

Max nodded dumbly. Sensing her impatience, the surgeon got right to the point. “It was touch and go there for a while -– Mr McDowell sustained a great deal of internal damage and he lost a lot of blood, but we managed to repair the damage. I’m optimistic that with care and rest, he’ll make a complete recovery.”

 

Max blinked, afraid she’d only heard what she wanted to hear. Luminous dark eyes filled with unshed tears, her lower lip trembling with the effort not to cry. “He’s going to be okay?”

 

The surgeon smiled. “He’s going to be just fine.”

 

Max wilted, the tension leaving her body in a rush, leaving her weak and trembling. Two fat tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. “Can I see him?”

 

“Give us a few minutes to get him settled in the ICU and then you can come up.” He looked at the concerned group gathered around Max. “Only one person allowed in the room at a time,” he warned.

 

Max nodded. The surgeon touched her lightly on the shoulder before leaving to follow his patient. Max buried her face in her hands and let out a strangled sob. Syl pulled her into a hug, a relieved smile on her face. Max sagged against her sister, her thin shoulders trembling as she quietly sobbed out her relief.

 

“He’s okay,” she murmured to herself. “He’s okay.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

The smell of disinfectant was even stronger in the ICU than downstairs. The ward was dim; the lights muted in deference to the patients lying asleep or comatose in their beds. Max shivered and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. The air resonated with the low grade hum of machinery; it set her nerves on edge.

 

She followed the surgeon down a short corridor to a private room. Alec was attached to a bank of beeping and flashing monitors. His face was drawn and pale against the white sheets. Dark circles like bruises ringed his eyes. Max shook her head in denial, her face twisted with the effort to hold back the tears. It was wrong; so very, very wrong to see him like this – still and silent and vulnerable.

 

She found some comfort in the knowledge that Alec was breathing on his own. An intravenous drip was embedded in the back of his left hand. Max tracked the tubing up to the clear bag hanging on the hook at the head of his bed -– morphine, and a course of antibiotics to fight infection and bring down his fever. The doctors were alarmed by his high temperature but Max knew it was natural for him; proof that his revved-up body was working overtime to repair the damage it had sustained.

 

What he really needed was a transfusion of transgenic blood. Rich in stem cells and endorphins, it would replenish his own stores and speed his recovery.

 

“He’s resting comfortably,” the doctor said from behind her. “Don’t be afraid to talk to him. He should be able to hear you, and a familiar voice is always good. If you need anything just press the call button above the bed.”

 

Max nodded mutely, unable to tear her eyes off Alec. The doctor patted her back and kindly left her alone. She went to his side and dragged the room’s only chair as close as possible to the bed. Her hands hovered uncertainly in the air. She wanted to hit him for scaring her so badly. She wanted to kiss him and hold him and never let go. She settled for gently brushing a lock of sweat-soaked hair off his forehead.

 

“I’m here, Alec,” she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. “I’m right here.” She stroked his broad chest, gently smoothing away tiny wrinkles in the coarse fabric of his hospital gown.

 

“In case you haven’t figured it out already, you’re in the hospital recovering from surgery.” She laughed hollowly. “Ya’know, if you really wanted a new hole in your body I’da been happy to oblige. You didn’t hafta go and get yourself STABBED.”

 

Max clenched her fists as a wave of irrational anger flooded her system. “I’m so pissed at you right now Alec! You can’t even go for a damn beer without getting your ass kicked! What the hell were you thinking?? You let a NORM with a KNIFE get the jump on you!! You shoulda known he was there. You shoulda heard him coming. They trained you better than that! WHY THE HELL weren’t you PAYING ATTENTION??!!”

 

Max buried her face in her hands, physically holding back the sobs that threatened to drown her in saltwater. She breathed deeply to calm her rattled nerves. She had to be strong. For him. They weren’t in the clear yet. Raising her head, she impatiently dashed a few stray tears from her face.

 

“I guess I’m just gonna hafta keep you on a shorter leash. That, or assign you a full-time bodyguard.” Max smirked, imagining Alec’s indignant reaction. “And don’t you DARE give me that ‘I’m-an-X5-I-can-handle-myself-just-fine’ crap,” she said, wagging her finger at the silent figure on the bed. “You have ZERO credibility left after this little stunt, mister.”

 

She gathered one limp hand in both of hers and brought it to her face, pressing a kiss to his palm. Laying her head on his chest, she drew comfort and strength from the steady thud of his heart.

 

“Rest now,” she whispered. “You’re safe. I’m here. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Rest.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Max snapped to attention the second she heard footsteps approach the door. Feigning sleep, she watched through barely slitted eyes as the nurse -– a tall, thin woman with a pinched face and iron grey hair -– entered the room. Max held her position, unwilling to surrender the element of surprise in case the nurse turned out to be an agent of the cult. Mentally she calculated the best angle of attack to render the woman unconscious.

 

The nurse paused at the foot of Alec’s bed and smiled indulgently at the sight of the slender, dark-haired girl asleep at her boyfriend’s side. Max still sat in the chair but her upper body was draped awkwardly across the bed, her head pillowed on Alec’s uninjured side. The worn and haggard look on her face convinced the nurse not to wake her. From the look of her, Max needed rest almost as much as the patient.

 

‘ _Such a sweet girl, and so devoted._ ’ Max had steadfastly refused to leave Alec’s side, despite the doctors’ assurances that he would be well taken care of. ‘ _He’s a lucky man. I hope he knows that._ ’

 

Moving as quietly as she could, she checked the IV drip and took Alec’s temperature. He was sweating heavily, burning up from the fever, but his skin was clammy to the touch and he was shivering. Frowning, she made a careful note in his chart.

 

Thirty seconds after the nurse vacated the room Zane and Krit arrived, dressed in stolen EMT uniforms and pushing a stretcher. Syl slipped in behind the two males.

 

“We’ve gotta move fast,” Zane warned. “We only have an hour before the nurse makes her rounds again, and I wanna be well out of town before anyone notices he’s not in his bed.”

 

Nodding, Max reached out and switched off the monitors and detached the sensors and the IV line. The four siblings surrounded the bed. On Max’s count, they carefully transferred him from the bed to the stretcher. Max tucked a thick blanket over him but deliberately left the safety straps undone, not wanting him to wake up wounded and in restraints. That was too much like Manticore. She shivered, goosebumps rising on her arm. She still woke up from nightmares about the medical procedures they’d endured as children.

 

Pressing a kiss to his forehead, she straightened and nodded to Zane and Krit. “Let’s go.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Jondy was waiting for them in the basement by the service entrance. Fortunately none of the maintenance staff were around this early in the day to question why two EMTs were using the delivery entrance at the rear of the hospital to load a critical patient into an unmarked cargo van.

 

Max opened the rear van doors and the two males carefully lifted the stretcher inside and strapped it in place using the heavy bolts welded into the floor. Zane yanked off his stolen EMT jacket and hopped into the passenger seat next to Jondy. Max knelt next to Alec. She fumbled under the blanket for his hand, and gripped it tightly.

 

“He’s gonna be okay, baby sis,” Krit said reassuringly, crouching next to her and wrapping his arm around her back.

 

“Yeah.” She smiled tiredly and leaned her head on his shoulder.

 

Several tense minutes passed before Syl appeared.

 

“Problems?” Max queried as the blonde hopped into back of the van with a transfusion kit clutched in one hand.

 

“Nah.” Syl shook her head. She laid the kit on the end of the stretcher next to Alec’s feet. “Took a little longer than anticipated to get the goods, but we’re good. No one’s raised the alarm yet.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Their bolthole was a motel an hour down the highway. Hardly ideal, but it was as far as they dared travel until Alec regained consciousness.

 

Max pulled the heavy curtains shut, shielding Alec from prying eyes and plunging the room into darkness. She removed her jacket and sweater, leaving her dressed only in a skimpy tank top. She lay down next to Alec, careful not to jostle him as she climbed onto the bed.

 

Syl quickly set up the transfusion, inserting one long needle into Alec’s arm and another in Max’s. She released the clamps, letting the dark liquid flow freely down the tube. Max watched as her blood left her body and began to move into Alec’s. She took his hand in hers and laced their fingers together.

 

Lassitude slowly overtook Max as her blood levels dropped. She watched through half-closed eyes as Syl laid the two glass vials and a box of disposable syringes on the bed. Max forced her eyes to focus on the labels. Morphine and midazolam hydrochloride.

 

With deft, competent movements that spoke of long practice, Syl drew a dose of morphine and injected it into Alec’s vein. It wasn’t until her sister reached for the sedative that she remembered what Galen the X4 medic had told her in the infirmary at Terminal City. ‘ _He won’t take it willingly. Most of the X series won’t. Too many times they’d wake up somewhere else and in worse shape than when they started. Manticore’s little… experiments, y’know._ ’

 

She struggled to sit up. “No sedatives,” she whispered. “Alec doesn’t like to be sedated.”

 

“So he’d rather be awake for the pain?”

 

“No sedatives,” Max repeated firmly and laid a warning hand on Syl’s arm.

 

Syl nodded in understanding. “No sedatives,” she agreed. “I’ll get rid of it. But Maxie,” she added in a teasing voice, “that means you’re gonna hafta be the grown-up and keep him from doing anything too... strenuous... when he wakes up.” She winked playfully.

 

Max rolled her eyes. “Stitches... sooo not a turn on. I think I can restrain myself.” She smiled at her sister, grateful for her presence.

 

Syl touched her face lightly, her expression serious. “Get some rest, Maxie. I’ll keep watch.”

 

Max nodded, then groaned as the room swayed drunkenly. She let her head fall back on the pillow and closed her eyes, too tired and dizzy and weak from blood loss to fight off sleep.

 

 

~*~

 

 

_Long fingers ran lightly up and down her spine, raising goosebumps and making her shiver._

_“Nuhhh,” she protested, burrowing her face into the hard, muscular chest beneath her cheek. “G’way. Sleeping.”_

_He chuckled, his laughter a deep rumble in her ear. “I thought you didn’t sleep.”_

_“Only with you.”_

_She tipped her face up for his kiss. His tongue traced her lips, mapping their texture. She moaned and parted her lips, enticing him to slip inside her. Eagerly he delved into her sweet mouth, tasting her flavour and rolling it across his tongue. She caught his lower lip in her teeth and sucked gently._

_His long fingers were tangled in her hair, gently cupping the back of her head. From this position he could easily crush her skull with his bare hands if he wanted to. She never felt safer._

_Her eyes opened to meet a pair of sparkling hazel ones. She grinned at him. “You’re alright.”_

_“Shame on you. I’m always alright.”_

_She nodded lazily and let her head fall back to his chest. She rubbed her cheek cat-like against his skin, marking him with her scent. He kissed the top of head and rolled her under him. Needy hands clutched his bare shoulders and pulled him flush against her body. Skin on skin; no barriers. She let out a happy sigh._

_“Comfy?”_

_“Always.”_

_“It’s not too much for you?”_

_“Never. It’s just right.”_

_He smirked at her. “Told you so.”_

_“Told me what?”_

_“That we’d be perfect together.”_

_“No you didn’t.”_

_“Yes I did. Every day. You just weren’t listening.”_

_“I’m listening now.”_

_“I know.”_

_He lowered his head and claimed her mouth, kissing her deeply._

_“I love you,” she whispered into his mouth, pushing the words deep inside him where they’d be safe. “I love you so much.”_

_“I know.” He cradled her face in his hands, his thumbs stroking her cheekbones. “I love you too.”_

_Max gasped out loud..._ and woke herself up.

 

She blinked in confusion. Instead of seeing Alec’s face hovering just above hers, she was staring up at the water-marked ceiling. She turned her head.

 

Alec was under the covers; still unconscious; still in his hospital gown. Whereas she lay fully dressed on top of the hideous purple paisley comforter.

 

‘ _Just a dream._ ’ Max scrubbed her face hard with her hands, telling herself firmly that those were NOT tears in her eyes.

 

She looked back at the man sleeping next to her, and sighed heavily. She desperately wished it were true. Wished he was awake and touching her. Wished he would say those words to her for real.

 

She knows he won’t. Knows it’s just a lovely dream. His heart still belongs to Rachel.

 

But it’s okay. She’ll wait for him.

 

Waiting is something she’s had a lot of practice with.

 

 

~*~

 

 

“Krit, you do that once more and I swear to God I’m gonna start breaking toes.” Syl threw a nasty glare over her shoulder at Krit’s laughing face.

 

The blonde lay on her stomach across the foot of one of the motel room double beds, trying to read. Krit reclined against the headboard against a mound of pillows, his long legs stretched out the length of the mattress. Every now and then he nudged Syl in the side with his feet, just to get a rise out of her.

 

“Do what?” he asked innocently.

 

Syl scowled, but her eyes were sparkling. Alec had made it through surgery; post op recovery would be easy.

 

Provided, of course, they weren’t forced to displace.

 

Her good mood dimmed slightly.

 

“You know damn well ‘what’. And even don’t bother giving me the puppy dog eyes. I’m immune to your lacklustre charms, doofus.”

 

Krit pouted and batted his eyes. “But Syyylll,” he whined, “I’m bored. Entertain me.”

 

“Would my fist in your face be entertaining?” Syl chirped sweetly.

 

“Girl trying to meditate here,” Jondy huffed from across the room. She sat in the lotus position in the middle of the second double bed, hands and feet folded gracefully in her lap.

 

“He started it, Jon.”

 

“Puhlease,” Krit scoffed. “I did not.”

 

“Did too.”

 

Jondy cracked open one eye and glared at them both impartially. “Have your two mentally regressed? Because I swear you weren’t this annoying when we actually were five years old.”

 

In sync Syl and Krit turned and stuck their tongues out at her.

 

Zane sighed and tuned out the three-way argument going on behind him. He leaned his forehead against the window. The cool glass was soothed his pounding headache. He stared his reflection in the eyes.

 

“Alec’s attacker was a working class stiff with dirty knuckles and worn-out clothes,” he said to no one in particular. His low voice cut through the bickering.

 

“You got a point there, big brother?” Syl asked. The eye roll was practically audible.

 

“Just wondering why Manticore would send an X5 after a guy like that. What kind of leverage could he possibly have to warrant assassination?”

 

His question sank like a stone, pulling shocked silence in its wake. Zane turned to face his siblings. Syl shook her head in flat denial. Krit shrugged undecided. Jondy looked as uncertain and unhappy as Zane felt.

 

“Maybe they didn’t,” she said slowly, uncurling her body and moving off the bed to stand next to Zane. “Maybe this kill was... extracurricular.”

 

“What’re you saying?” Krit asked in disbelief. “That Alec killed that guy’s brother just for kicks?”

 

“I dunno.” Jondy shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe. Maybe he got in Alec’s way. Maybe he said something to piss him off.”  
  


“You can’t honestly believe that!” Syl protested. Her eyes were bright blue daggers.

 

“And you don’t know it’s not true!” Jondy countered. “Alec spent 20 years inside Manticore. We don’t know what he’s done, what he’s capable of. We don’t know him. He’s not Ben.”

 

“You think he’s dangerous?” Zane asked quietly.

 

“Of course he’s dangerous,” Max said bluntly. She stood in the connecting doorway between the two suites, her arms crossed defiantly, and stared them all down. “He’s X5,” she continued. “Or have you forgotten that night in the woods?”

 

As one they averted their eyes, unable to meet her hard stare.

 

“And you’re wrong.” Max spoke directly to Jondy. “Alec didn’t do this. Alec didn’t kill that guy’s brother. He couldn’t have, no matter what you think of him.”

 

Jondy had the grace to blush, but tilted her chin defiantly all the same.

 

“He was locked up in a government facility remember,” Max said.

 

“He was let out on missions,” Jondy pointed out waspishly.

 

“He. Didn’t. Do. It.” Max growled. “Trust me on that.”

 

“What do you know, Max?” Syl asked softly. “What aren’t you telling us?” Her eyes begged Max for an explanation she could believe.

 

Max froze. She dropped her eyes to her feet, wanting desperately to be away from here. Away from their questions and their accusations and the uncomfortable truth she couldn’t bury for much longer.

 

She shook her head, her long hair whipping around her face. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t look them in the eye tell them she murdered their brother.

 

They’d hate her.

 

She’d lose them, and she only just found them again.

 

But silence wasn’t fair to Alec. He didn’t deserve what had been done to him; what was still being done to him.

 

Slowly Max raised her eyes to her siblings. Syl and Krit looked willing to be convinced. Zane was reserving judgement until he had more information. Only Jondy still looked sceptical.

 

That hurt.

 

She straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. She would own up to her crimes and take her punishment like the soldier she was. She owed Alec the truth.

 

“The attack had nothing to do with Alec,” she repeated, her voice firm. “He didn’t kill that guy’s brother.”

 

“Are you saying Alec’s innocent?”

 

“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

 

“But Maxie... he recognized Alec on sight,” Zane said gently, his expression pitying.

 

Max shook her head. “You don’t understand. Yeah, he recognized his brother’s killer... but ALEC didn’t do it.” She took a deep breath. “BEN did.”

 

Dead silence fell. No one moved.

 

 

~*~

 

 

With consciousness came the return of pain. He hurt. Everywhere. Even his bones ached. He was hot and feverish; the sheets clung uncomfortably to his damp skin. His eyes were scratchy, his throat parched. His tongue darted out to lick dry, cracked lips. He longed for a glass of cool water. Judging by the fuzzy feeling inside his head and the way objects swam in and out of focus on the edge of his vision, he’d been heavily doped with morphine.

 

Alec took in his surroundings. Double bed; scratchy polyester blankets in a hideous paisley pattern; cheap wooden furniture; mini-TV bolted to the wall; one ratty armchair. He’d been in enough no-tell motels in the last year to recognize one instantly. Every motel chain in America seemed to use the same crappy furniture wholesaler.

 

He breathed a little easier knowing he wasn’t still in the hospital. Too many questions he couldn’t answer; too high a risk of exposure. Extending his hearing he listened hard, hoping to locate Max. He picked up the sound of raised voices in the next room.

 

_“The attack had nothing to do with Alec. He didn’t kill that guy’s brother.”_

 

Alec frowned. Were they arguing about him? Because of Ben? He felt the slow burn of anger. Was it never going to stop?

 

_“Are you saying Alec’s innocent?”_

 

That was Jondy, sounding dubious and sceptical. Alec scowled.

 

_“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”_

 

Max’s bluntness made Alec smile. No attempt to justify or explain – just a bald statement. As if it should be patently obvious to everyone that he wasn’t a raving psychotic lunatic.

 

Well, it should be; he was never one for collecting trophies from his kills. ESPECIALLY human teeth. Hell, he couldn’t even stand to go to the dentist after the images they’d bombarded him with in Psy Ops.

 

 _“But Maxie... he recognized Alec on sight.”_  

 

That bit came from Zane. Alec’s scowl returned. What they ganging up on Max? He shook his head and threw off the covers. Max shouldn’t have to defend him; not over this. Not when he was perfectly capable of telling them off himself.

 

_“You don’t understand. Yeah, he recognized his brother’s killer... but ALEC didn’t do it.”_

 

“Don’t, Maxie. Don’t do it,” he whispered. “Not on my account.” He knew what it would cost her to tell them the truth. He held his breath, praying she’d let it slide.

 

She didn’t.

 

_“BEN did.”_

 

“Shit.” There was no way he was letting Max go through this conversation without back up. Grunting, Alec rolled over onto his side. Agony flared throughout his body, nerve endings screaming in protest at the movement.

 

He held himself still; panting, eyes screwed shut and teeth clenched against the pain. Grimly he concentrated on his breathing. He was X5-494; he would NOT let the pain master him. He’d been trained better than that. Gradually he forced the pain to recede to the point where it no longer dominated his awareness.

 

Bracing himself for more pain, he wriggled his hips and swung his legs off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Sliding one arm under his body, he pushed against the mattress and levered himself into an upright position. His vision greyed. Biting the inside of his cheek, he used the sharper pain as a distraction to fight the urge to sink back down onto the mattress.

 

‘ _I’m coming, Maxie._ ’

 

 

~*~

 

 

Too many lies and half-truths; the sins of omission. It was time to come clean.

 

‘ _Confession’s good for the soul, right?_ ’ Max thought inanely. She took a deep breath. “What did Zack tell you about Ben’s death?”

 

“Just that he got careless,” Zane answered, “and Manticore closed in on him.”

 

‘ _Careless. God damn it, Zack._ ’ Max shook her head. She never hated her eldest brother’s need-to-know policy more than she did right at that moment.

 

“Did he tell you WHY Manticore kept finding him in city after city?”

 

Four blank faces stared back at her. Max sighed.

 

How could she possibly explain what went wrong with Ben? How could she tell them she killed their brother and make them understand? She scrubbed her face with her hands, as if the friction would somehow force the right words to the surface.

 

“Ben was... confused. It was like there were too many things he couldn’t make sense of. He couldn’t reconcile what Manticore trained us to be and what the world said was wrong.” Max shrugged helplessly, unable to explain it any better than that.

 

“He started hunting... the way we’d been taught as kids,” Max said in a voice denuded of all emotion. She recounted the bare facts without embellishment. The look of pain haunting her dark eyes told a different story though. It was taking all her willpower not to break.

 

“He chased his victims through the woods. Escape and evade. And when he caught them, he killed them and he laid their bodies on a rock and he took their teeth for the Blue Lady.”

 

A collective shudder ran through her siblings. Max nodded grimly, knowing they all remembered that day. It lived in their nightmares.

 

“He killed 11 people including, apparently, the brother of the guy who stabbed Alec. And the worst part of it is... he tattooed each and every one of them with his own barcode. He hated himself that much.” Her voice broke and became thick with unshed tears. “He couldn’t stop; he didn’t know how. Hunting, killing, the thrill of the chase... it was the only thing that made sense to him anymore. He was just doing what we were trained to do.”

 

Max laughed hollowly. “Zack was right about one thing, though. Manticore WAS after him. Every time a body showed up in the morgue with Ben’s barcode it threatened exposure of the project. Manticore couldn’t afford that. They had to contain him. Trouble was, they didn’t know why he was doing it. And without knowing what drove him, they couldn’t anticipate his moves.”

 

Her voice turned bitter. “They needed to know if Ben’s psychosis was genetic – something inherent to the X series – or acquired. They couldn’t experiment on Ben but they had the next best thing… his identical twin locked up in their very own barracks. They sent Alec to Psy Ops. The doctors ripped him apart. They tried to make him as crazy as Ben.” Tears welled in her eyes again. “It wasn’t the first time Alec got punished because of something Ben did. He got sent to Psy Ops and Reindoc after we ran in 09. All the twins did.”

 

“So that’s what he meant,” Zane said, comprehension dawning in his eyes. He turned to Krit. “Remember in the bar... he said he’d been sent to Psy Ops TWICE because of Ben.”

 

“Yeah, and we were like ‘hey Alec, wanna listen to us reminisce about the guy responsible for getting you tortured?’” Krit grimaced in self-disgust. “Man, we suck.”

 

“Do you have ANY idea what Manticore put him through?? What all of them went through because of us?!?” Max demanded, guilt over her part in Alec’s first sojourn in Psy Ops making her lash out at her siblings. “They got punished for OUR crimes. They were loyal to Manticore and they got punished for something they didn’t do. Something they never even dreamed of doing! Our twins got the worst of it. And it just kept on happening to Alec. Every time Ben screwed up, Alec bore the brunt of Manticore’s anger.”

 

“No wonder they’re so pissy with us,” Zane said to himself, shaking his head. He wondered if it was possible to erase this conversation from his brain and go back to blissful ignorance.

 

How do you make up for the fact that your actions –- however unwitting -– were directly responsible for making someone else’s life a living hell?

 

“But that’s not the end of the story, is it Max?” Jondy interrupted. She eyed her sister shrewdly. “Something else happened with Ben.”

 

Max closed her eyes. Damn Jondy for knowing her so well.

 

“No,” she whispered. “Ben came to Seattle. That’s how I knew what he was doing. I followed him. I knew I had to stop him. He couldn’t keep on like that. We talked, all night. I tried to reason with him, I tried so hard to make him see that he had to stop, I swear I tried.” She begged them with her eyes to believe her. “I almost got through to him, I was so close but...” She shook her head, her chin quivering. “He couldn’t let it go. He was too far gone.”

 

‘ _Oh God._ ’ She couldn’t breathe. Her limbs were icy. Any second now she’d start to hyperventilate.

 

This was so much harder than telling Alec. She could only pray they would understand that she had no choice. She swallowed hard, gathered her courage, and forced herself to say the words out loud.

 

“I killed him. He asked me to. We were in the woods. Manticore was closing in on our position. His leg was broken; he couldn’t displace. He didn’t want go back there. He knew what they’d do to him. So he asked me to do it. And I did.”

 

Tears fell unchecked down Max’s face. She waited, head bowed, for her siblings’ reaction.

 

“You did the right thing, Max.”

 

Max whipped around. Alec stood behind her doorway connecting the two suites. He was pale and barely standing, but he was there. Because she needed him, he was there.

 

He clung to the doorframe for support. Max blurred to his side. Ducking under his arm, she took his weight and braced his injured side. The fact that he let her do it and even leaned his weight on her told her how just how weak he really was. Of course, that hadn’t stopped him from dragging his ass out of bed in the first place.

 

Max turned her face up to his. He smiled encouragingly at her, making her heart swell. It didn’t matter that his eyes were dull and a little unfocused from the morphine, or that he was feverish and sweaty to the touch. All that mattered was that he was awake. He was awake, and he was okay.

 

“You did the right thing,” he repeated. “The only thing you could. Psy Ops would’ve broken Ben. They would’ve ripped him open and played Humpty Dumpty with his mind until there was nothing left of him. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, not even him.”

 

Al.ec stared down her accusers. “None of you,” he hissed, “not one of you have the right to judge her. You weren’t there. You don’t know.”

 

“You’re right,” Syl said quietly. She met Max’s frightened gaze with love and compassion and forgiveness in her eyes. “I’m sorry Maxie. You shouldn’t have had to go through that alone.”

 

In the background, Krit and Zane and Jondy all nodded, adding their support to Syl’s.

 

Relief washed through her. They didn’t hate her. They didn’t blame her. Max let the tears fall, feeling unbelievably grateful for her family.

 

Alec pulled her close, his hands rubbing circles on her back. He swayed on his feet, his energy reserves dangerously depleted. Max blanched. He shouldn’t even be out of bed.

 

“Shirtless Alec good. Pulled stitches bad,” Syl joked. “Back to bed, pretty boy.” She shot Max a conspiratorial wink

 

Max ducked her head to hide her smile. Alec didn’t stand a chance. “Bed. Now.” She tugged on his arm. “No arguments.”

 

“With two such lovely ladies to tuck me in, how could I refuse?” He leered suggestively at Max. “Wanna keep me company?”

 

She blushed remembering her dream. “Did you miss the part where you got gutted, Romeo?” she scolded. “You’re not ready for ‘company’.”

 

“Hey!” Alec protested indignantly. “I’m always ready.”

 

“Prove your virility later. Please.” Syl laid a hand on his back and gently steered him towards the bed. She refrained from helping Max support his weight. He would resent being made to look weak in front of the others. He only tolerated it from Max because she was Max.

 

“I think I speak for all of us,” Syl added, “when I say we really, REALLY don’t want to hear you and our baby sis going at it.”

 

“Can I brag about it after?”

 

“You? Brag? Never,” Syl scoffed.

 

Alec bit back a gasp as Max lowered him onto the bed. “S’not bragging if it’s the truth,” he retorted, using the banter to distract him from the pain.

 

Syl rolled her eyes. “Whatever you gotta tell yourself, pretty boy.”

 

Alec had gone white around the mouth. Concerned, Syl caught Max’s eye then flicked her eyes toward the vial of morphine on the bedside table. Max nodded.

 

“You stay in this bed for the next 48 hours or I swear to God I’m gonna kick your ass,” Max threatened. Her gentle touch as she tucked him in belied her harsh words.

 

“You’d beat up a wounded man? That’s harsh, Maxie.”

 

“I will if it’ll keep your ass in bed.”

 

“You want me in your bed, all you gotta do is ask.”

 

Syl held up the syringe. Alec obediently extended his arm for the injection.

 

“Stay with me?” he whispered, tugging on Max’s hand.

 

She tenderly brushed the hair off his forehead. “Of course.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Five days after their estimated arrival date, Max turned off the highway into the parking lot of a cantina in northern Mexico. It was a converted ranch house dating back to the days of the cattle barons, built from the traditional sun-fired adobe walls and red-tiled roofs of the region. Comfortable deck chairs were placed the length of the veranda. Flowers bloomed in potbellied clay pots. It was rustic and charming. Max couldn’t believe it was the right place. She stamped down hard on the urge to double-check her memory against Logan’s map.

 

She glanced across at the passenger seat where Alec was dozing, lulled to sleep by the motion of the car and the Mexican heat. His hair was gilded by the sunlight streaming through the window; his skin gleamed with his usual healthy golden glow. She smiled.

 

As if he sensed her scrutiny, Alec stirred. Yawning, he stretched and hissed in pain when the movement pulled his tender side. “Are we there yet?”

 

Max rolled her eyes. “No, dumb ass. I just thought I’d drive for three days straight to a completely random location. Surprise!”

 

“Huh.” Alec blinked slowly. “Is there alcohol?”

 

Max practically growled at him. “For the last time, pretty boy... you’re cut off until you can learn how to NOT get yourself almost killed.”

 

“That’s just cruel, Maxie,” he pouted. “What did I ever do to deserve THAT?”

 

Fortunately for Alec, Max was prevented from replying by the appearance of a beautiful African American girl on the veranda. She was simply dressed in a white t-shirt and cut-off jean shorts that exposed her long legs; her long dark hair was pulled back into a thick braid. Her smile was friendly but cautious.

 

Black sports cars with tinted windows were obviously not the norm around here.

 

“Lo siento, está cerrado,” she said. “Volved luego – dos por uno toda la noche, invita la casa.”

 

“No hemos venido por el tequila,” Max joked as she hopped out of the car, a silly smile splitting her face in two.

 

Jace’s face lit up at the sight of her baby sister. “Maxie?!?”

 

She leaped off the veranda, bypassing the stairs entirely, and raced to meet her sister. The two girls collided in the middle of the parking lot, clinging to one another and laughing like maniacs. Max breathed deeply, taking in her sister’s scent.

 

“I missed you so much, baby sis.”

 

“I missed you too. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

 

“It doesn’t matter. You’re here now.”

 

Jace stiffened, her eyes focused on something behind Max’s head. Max suppressed a groan. Not knowing how much of Manticore’s conditioning remained with Jace – and remembering their own somewhat violent reunion – she’d ordered the others to stay in their cars until she’d had a chance to prepare Jace for their arrival. She wondered which one of them had defied her orders.

 

‘ _Well that’s a shocker._ ’ She rolled her eyes. Alec was leaning against the car door, the very picture of nonchalance – arms akimbo, legs crossed at the ankle, head tilted at a rakish angle. He looked so handsome standing there it made her mouth water. Surreptitiously she checked her chin for drool.

 

Panic hit a second later. She was standing next to yet another sibling who didn’t know Alec from Ben. She almost growled out loud in frustration. How many times did she have to go through this?

 

Max grabbed Jace by the arm, trying to force her sister’s attention off their dead brother’s doppelganger. “Jace, hold up. I’m sorry to spring him on you like this -– believe me, you have no idea how sorry,” she added under her breath, “but that’s not who you think he is...”

 

What Jace said next brought Max’s world to a screeching halt.

 

“494?”

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone was curious, no I did not use the Eyes Only Dossier as my source. In my verse, the twins and the remnants of Max’s old unit were removed from the barracks and trained separately because Manticore worried they were tainted with the Niners’ disloyalty and might spread the ‘infection’ to the test of the troops. Alec knows Jace because they trained together. They were squad mates, along with Sam and Brin after she was recaptured.

“494?’ Jace whispered. Her eyes searched his warily.

 

Alec cocked one eyebrow at the stunned X5. “That’s it?? THAT’S my warm welcome?!? Sheesh. Don’t I at least get a hug?” he pouted. “I thought you’d be happy to see me, 798.”

 

Her sudden smile could rival the sun. Alec opened his arms and Jace walked straight into them.

 

Max’s jaw dropped as the two rogue X5s embraced. ‘ _Jace knows Alec?_ ’ she thought blankly. She just couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around the concept.

 

“I think I speak for all of us when I say, ‘What the fuck?!?’ You two know each other?”

 

Jace stiffened in Alec’s arms at the unexpected voice and whirled around. Four familiar strangers wearing identical gobsmacked expressions stood in a loose clump between a sleek black Mustang with heavily tinted windows and a battered green pickup truck with a black Ninja strapped to the back. Their eyes flicked from her to Alec and back again.

 

Jace stared blankly at the long-lost siblings she hadn’t laid eyes on since the night they betrayed Manticore… and her. Unbidden, Manticore’s conditioning flashed across her mind’s eye. ‘ _Rat._ _Traitor. Snake. Deserter.’_  She tensed; a breath away from assuming an attack stance.

 

Alec pressed a hand to the small of her back and tapped out a rapid series of signals with his fingers. ‘ _Allies._ _Stand down._ ’

 

Jace blew out a deep breath and forced herself to relax. She trusted 494’s judgement. He wouldn’t have brought them here if they were a threat.

 

She glanced at him over one shoulder, twisting her head just far enough to see him and still keep her ‘siblings’ in her peripheral vision. An unspoken question was visible in her dark eyes -– how did 494 of all soldiers end up running with the Niners? It boggled the mind.

 

Alec just shrugged and flicked his eyes to Max.

 

‘ _Ah._ ’ Jace nodded sagely. ‘ _Of course._ _Max._ ’

 

“Not exactly the Manticore reunion I was expecting.” Max stomped over to stand next to Jace and Alec, arms crossed over her chest. Her full lips held the beginning of a scowl. “What gives? How do you two know each other?”

 

“494 and I are squad mates,” Jace replied calmly, flipping her long braid over her shoulder.

 

Max frowned at Jace’s use of the present tense. Her frown deepened when she noticed Alec still had his arm wrapped around Jace’s slender waist.

 

“It’s Alec now,” he informed Jace.

 

“Alec,” she repeated, rolling the name around on her tongue to taste its flavour.

 

“As in smart-aleck,” he added with a smirk and a shrug. “Max named me.”

 

Jace nodded. “It suits you.”

 

“My second choice was Dick,” Max said coolly.

 

“Also appropriate,” Jace grinned widely.

 

“Hey, standing right here ladies,” Alec protested good-naturedly.

 

“Umm… Jace?” Jondy said, interrupting. She waved at her sister. “Hi.”

 

Jace breathed deeply and turned back to face her siblings. Once more her conditioning kicked in. ‘ _Rat. Traitor. Snake. Deserter.’_  Jace shook her head to clear it of the old treacherous thoughts. That wasn’t who she was anymore. That wasn’t who they were. She would not allow Manticore to control her again.

 

“Hey guys.” She waved awkwardly, unsure of the proper protocol for this meet. “Welcome to Mexico.”

 

Fortunately, no one tried for a group hug. ‘ _Max must’ve warned them,_ ’ Jace surmised. She let her guard down a little further.

 

“Nice place you got here, sis,” Krit said, eyeing the large and comfortable looking ranch house.

 

“Thanks,” Jace shrugged, “but it’s all Victor’s doing, not mine. He’s the entrepreneur.”

 

“Speaking of... when do we get to meet the guy who knocked up our little sister?” Zane asked.

 

Jace felt her hackles rise at Zane’s over-protectiveness but forced herself to let it go. There would be time enough to establish boundaries later.

 

“Victor?” she yelled. “Victor! Come and see who’s here.”

 

A man in his early thirties appeared in the doorway, a polite smile in place for the newcomers. He was casually dressed in a soft white t-shirt over faded blue jeans and scuffed brown cowboy boots. He had a strong square jaw, gentle brown eyes, and dark wavy hair cut short in the sides and back and longer in front. It flopped over his forehead, giving him a boyish appearance. He was trim and fit without any excess fat on his spare frame -– the physique of a swimmer or long-distance runner.

 

Victor recognized the man with his arm around his wife and immediately tensed. It was clear from his stance that if he had hackles, they’d be raised in a threat display. “What’s HE doing here?” he demanded in a low, tight voice.

 

“Vic, ol’ buddy! I almost didn’t recognize you without a lab coat and a Petri dish,” Alec sneered, unable to resist a subtle dig at the former Manticore lab tech.

 

Victor scowled at the brash X5. He didn’t need the reminder of what he used to be; the things he’d done in the name of Science. He lived with that everyday. “I guess marriage agrees with me,” he retorted with a proprietary smile at his wife.

 

“So it’s true what they say about BETTER halves,” Alec smirked.

 

“Boys… don’t start,” Jace scolded. She pinned Victor with an exasperated look.

 

“Sorry,” Victor apologized automatically. “Of course it’s good to see you, 494. It’s just a bit of a shock. We gave you up for dead.” He stepped forward and offered his hand.

 

“No problem,” Alec said and shook Victor’s hand. If he noticed the other man’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, he didn’t let on.

 

“Victor, meet my uh…” Jace hesitated, searching for the right word, her brutal retraining making her reluctant to call them family. “…my former squad mates,” she finally said. “Syl, Krit, Zane, and Jondy.” They smiled and waved as she pointed to each one in turn.

 

Victor nodded politely. “Welcome to Mexico.”

 

“And this,” Jace added excitedly as she propelled her baby sister towards Victor, “is Max.”

 

“You’re Max?” Victor’s smile turned genuine. “It’s so good to finally meet you. We owe you and Eyes Only everything. If you hadn’t got us out...” He grimaced and shook his head.

 

“I’m just glad we could help,” Max said.

 

“If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead and buried right now. Manticore would’ve killed me. You saved my life. If there’s ANYTHING I can ever do for you, just ask. I mean it.”

 

Max toed the ground, embarrassed by Victor’s earnestness. “It’s no biggie,” she muttered. She glanced around for a distraction and caught sight of Alec. He was leaning against the car again. “Uh, Jace… can we take this party inside? Alec really shouldn’t be on his feet.”

 

“Max…” Alec groaned, “I’m fine.”

 

Max snorted. Off Jace’s quizzical look she added, “He’s recuperating from getting his fool ass nearly stabbed to death.”

 

“What happened?” Jace asked Alec curiously. “Mission go sideways?”

 

“I wish,” Alec muttered, his expression dark. He shook his head. “Nah. I was the target. Mistaken identity.”

 

Jace recognized the dead look in his eyes; he wore it every time he returned from Reindoc or Psy Ops. “Shit,” she swore. “Ben.” Alec nodded. The pulsing muscle in his tightly clenched jaw was the only outward sign of his anger.

 

“C’mon, let’s get you inside.” Jace looped her arm through Alec’s and gently tugged him toward the veranda steps. Alec rolled his eyes but let himself be led without further protest.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The interior of the ranch house was cool and dim; a welcome relief from the oppressive sun outside. The house was solidly built with thick walls that were designed to keep the house cool during the day but retain the heat at night. The cantina occupied the entire ground floor while the second story housed the office and private living quarters.

 

The bar itself was located in a small room just off the front entrance. A swinging door led to the kitchen. Mirrored shelves behind the bar displayed an impressive collection of tequila -– most of it locally brewed in illegal stills. Two large televisions were mounted on shelves tucking into the corners. Wooden tables and chairs filled the room.

 

Low tables and comfortable chairs in bright burgundy, gold and blue upholstery were scattered throughout the rest of the house. Doors had been taken off their frames, leaving the rooms open and accessible.

 

Jace steered Alec towards a cheerful room at the back. Indirect sunlight streamed through the large windows, making the polished hardwood floor gleam. A large stone fireplace occupied one wall. The painting hanging above the mantle was of a sunset over the plains; vibrant reds and pinks streaked across a sky gone the purple-blue of a fresh bruise.

 

Alec gingerly lowered himself onto an oversized couch opposite the fireplace. He grimaced slightly and wrapped one arm around his side for support; the wound was healing rapidly but bending at the waist was still painful. Max slipped into the vacant spot next to him and pressed the back of one hand to his forehead, testing for fever.

 

Alec scowled. “Enough, Max. I’m fine,” he barked and batted her hand aside. Max pouted at the rebuff.

 

“Can I get you a glass of water?” Jace asked solicitously, eyeing Alec’s slightly pallid complexion with concern.

 

“No, but a scotch would be great.”

 

“No!” Max and Jace yelled in tandem, making Alec recoil into the back of the couch.

 

“What did I just tell you in the car, pretty boy?” Max crossed her arms and gave Alec her patented glare. “No. More. Alcohol.”

 

“Alcohol and painkillers? Not a good mix,” Jace added. “Have you forgotten what happened in Moscow in 2016? Because I haven’t.”

 

“You’re restricting me to water?” Alec asked incredulously. “What’s next… stale bread?” He turned a beseeching look on Victor. “A little help here?”

 

Victor shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching up in a smirk. He made very little effort to hide his amusement at Alec’s expense. “Sorry man, you’re on your own. One tall cool glass of water coming right up.” He disappeared into the kitchen.

 

“Thanks, honey,” Jace called after him.

 

Alec pouted and slumped in his chair, mumbling unflattering comments under his breath about overbearing women. Max patted his shoulder which only made him sulk harder.

 

Jace gestured vaguely around the room. “Make yourselves at home, guys. I’ll be right back.” She turned and vanished up the stairs. Taking her at her word, the four siblings quickly settled in. Syl, Krit and Zane claimed the second couch while Jondy curled up in an oversized armchair with her legs tucked under her. The pose made her seem much younger than her years.

 

Victor returned bearing a tray loaded with a tall pitcher of lemonade and eight glasses. Max raised one eyebrow in a silent question. “It’s made with water,” he said facetiously.

 

Max passed a glass to Alec. “Drink that,” she ordered sternly. “You need more fluids.”

 

“Yes ma’am.” Alec rolled his eyes but took the glass rather than fight about it. Granted, Max’s concern was a vast improvement over her previous dismissive attitude -– her flippant ‘ _been there, done that_ ’ response to his bullet wound during the Jam Pony hostage taking still rankled -– but the constant fussing and fretting was starting to annoy him. He was no weakling; he didn’t need her to coddle him.

 

“Where’d Jace go?” Syl asked and held out her hand to receive a glass of lemonade. She took a sip and hummed in appreciation; the tart flavour was strong enough to curl her tongue in her mouth.

 

“She went to go get Max,” Victor replied absently as he continued pouring drinks.

 

“Uh… Max is sitting right here.” Jondy waved her hand in her baby sister’s direction, her forehead wrinkled prettily in confusion.

 

“Not that Max.” Victor turned his head and winked at the brunette X5.

 

Max’s jaw dropped in stunned amazement, her mouth forming a small ‘o’ and then bursting into a wide happy smile. Alec eyed her askance – Max was hardly ever that happy. The reason for her glee became apparent when Jace returned to the room with a toddler balanced on one hip. He was a beautiful boy with mocha skin, dark limpid eyes, and a mop of fuzzy black hair.

 

 “Everyone,” Jace said with a proud smile, “this is our son, Max.”

 

Little Max stared solemnly at the sea of unfamiliar faces. Laying his head on his mother’s shoulder he popped his thumb in his mouth, his small fingers hooked over the bridge of his nose. The women in the room melted and cooed at the adorable little boy.

 

“You really named him after me,” Max said with a touch of awe in her voice as she stared at her nephew. Her namesake.

 

“I told you I would,” Jace replied.

 

“That is awesome!”

 

“We wouldn’t have him if it weren’t for you, Max. They would’ve taken him from me… if they even let me carry him to term.” Jace blinked back sudden tears. Victor moved to stand next his wife, one hand resting on her shoulder and the other cupping the back of little Max’s head.

 

“No one’s gonna take him from you. Ever,” Max said fiercely. “We protect our own.” Alec and the others nodded; their faces grim and hard.

 

Jace closed her eyes and felt a great weight slip from her shoulders. For tonight, at least, she could let down her guard. “Thank you,” she whispered gratefully.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The days when herds of beef cattle ranged freely over the land were long gone. In the last century, cattle country was fenced in by vast lengths of barbed wire and the ranch house was no exception. Standing next to the fence at the rear of the property, Jace carefully gripped the top two wires in her hands and pulled up while simultaneously pushing the bottom wire down with her foot, creating a gap big enough for Alec to slip through. Once he was on the other side, Alec turned and held the fence open for Jace. She led the way up a narrow path to the crest of a bluff overlooking the house, their boots swishing in the long summer grass.

 

Jace walked over to the very edge of the bluff and sank gracefully to the ground, tucking her knees beneath her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs. Alec preferred to stretch his long legs out in front of him with his weight braced behind him on bent elbows. Side by side they stared out into the rugged countryside. In the distance two dozen head of cattle were grazing next to a stream. Above them a lone hawk soared through the deep blue sky, screaming his presence to the world below.

 

‘ _All that’s missing is the Marlborough man,_ ’ Alec thought cynically. Aloud he said, “Quite the place you’ve got here.”

 

“You don’t approve,” Jace replied. It was a statement, not a question.

 

Alec didn’t pretend to misunderstand her meaning. “No,” he said bluntly. “We don’t belong with them. We’re a danger to them. They’re a danger to us.” He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, then turned and gave her a rueful smile. “But I also know it isn’t my call.”

 

“No, it really isn’t.” Jace agreed. Seeing the bleakness hiding in the back of his eyes, some of her anger melted away. Her heart ached for him and all he’d lost. Strangely, it made her even more determined to hold onto her normal life. “Alec, I get why you think that way,” she said softly. “I really do. I even agree with you, for the most part. But please try to understand... this is where I belong. Victor is a good man. He loves me. And he knows the score, so it’s not like I have to pretend to be something I’m not.”

 

“But you are. Every minute of every day that you’re out here,” Alec countered. “You’d be safer back at base camp. We’ve managed to drop off the government’s radar screens.”

 

“But I’m happy here. Victor and Max are happy here.”

 

“Happy’s good. Just not at the expense of your safety.”

 

“I haven’t forgotten my training!” Jace retorted sharply. “I know how to play the game; how to blend in, act human. And believe me, I have MAJOR incentive not to get caught.” Her eyes were hard and unyielding; she refused to surrender this life. “When I left Manticore I had one clear mission objective -– give my baby a normal life. The life we never had. And I will do whatever it takes to achieve that objective.”

 

“Fair enough,” Alec sighed, conceding defeat. “Add this to your arsenal.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a sleek silver cell phone and tossed it to her. “It’s encrypted and secure. If things go sideways, don’t play hero. Call for back up. I’ll lead the extraction team myself.”

 

Jace curled her fingers around the phone and held it tightly. She knew this was the closest she’d get to a blessing from him. “Thank you.” Alec dipped his head in acknowledgement.

 

“So you and Maxie, huh? How’d that happen?” she asked curiously.

 

“Hell if I know.” Off Jace’s incredulous look, Alec shrugged and said, “One day she can’t stand me, the next she’s in my bed. So who knows how long it’ll last.” He abruptly snapped his mouth shut and looked away, furious with himself for saying more than he meant to. His only excuse for the blunder was that Jace had been confidante back at Manticore.

 

“You don’t really believe that,” Jace stared at him. Alec resolutely kept his face to the horizon, ducking her questioning eyes. Jace gasped. “You do!”

 

“Forget I said anything. I’m alright. I’m just tired and it’s making me cranky.”

 

“Don’t you give me that ‘I’m alright’ crap--”

 

Alec held up one hand to cut off the flood of words. “Let it be,” he said curtly. “I’m don’t want to talk about it.” Steel underlay his words, and his eyes were hard and cold.

 

Jace pursed her lips but wisely relented and changed the subject. “Have you been in contact with any of the others from our unit?”

 

“Only 453.”

 

“How’s she doing?”

 

“You remember she was deployed on a deep cover mission in San Francisco?” Jace nodded. “She fell for her target. Apparently I’m not the only defective X5,” Alec said with a bitter snort of laughter. “When Manticore went down she was still in the field. She said ‘screw protocol’ and married the guy and adopted his kid.”

 

The thought of loyal, obedient Sam breaking protocol for any reason made Jace shake her head in disbelief; she’d never put a single foot out of line back at Manticore. “Does Maxie know she’s twinned?”

 

“Yeah,” Alec chuckled at the memory. “Sam paid us a little visit earlier this year. Looking for payback for all the crap the Niners put us through as kids. That, and the government whack job in charge of hunting us down had her family and wanted Max in trade. Sam was only too happy to make the deal.”

 

Jace pulled a face. “Sounds like our Sam. Nobody can hold a grudge quite like her.”

 

“No kidding,” Alec sighed. “The whole time she was in Seattle she refused to even look at me, much less talk to me. As far as she was concerned we never knew each other.”

 

“I’m not surprised. 453 always did have an attitude about being reassigned to our unit. And you gotta admit,” Jace grinned, “you were a pain in her ass from day one.”

 

“She had an attitude,” Alec protested, “just like her twin. Must be genetic.” Jace burst out laughing.

 

Silence settled between them, but it was a comfortable one. Eventually Alec rubbed his hands together and started to rise. “We’d better head back to the house before Max organizes a search party for me.”

 

Jace caught his arm and pulled him back down beside her. “Before we go, there’s something I need to know.” Squaring her shoulders, she raised her face to meet Alec head on and posed the question that haunted her dreams, “How bad was it after I ran?”

 

There was the brave soldier he knew; the one who faced danger head on, no quarter given and none asked for. Suppressing a proud smile Alec brushed aside her fears with a casual wave of his hand. “A stint in Punishment; another in Reindoc. You know… the usual.”

 

“Don’t pull your punches with me, 494,” Jace warned. “I can handle the truth.”

 

“I’m telling you the truth,” he insisted. “I guess they figured your ‘unauthorized medical status’ counted as extenuating circumstances or something. I dunno,” he shrugged. “Whatever the reason, they didn’t do their worst. Of course, the fact that you were left unsupervised long enough to get pregnant in the first place led to a whole round of new restrictions on our free time.” He tilted his head to one side, his forehead creased in puzzlement. “And I think you gave Renfro the idea for the breeding program.”

 

Jace shook her head in bewilderment. “I don’t get it. Why aren’t you pissed at me?”

 

“Easy,” Alec shrugged. “Did you know you were pregnant before you were assigned the hit on Adriana Vertes?” Jace shook her head in denial. “But once you were apprised of the situation, you reassessed your mission parameters and chose a strategic retreat from hostile territory.”

 

“That’s one way to put it,” Jace said reluctantly, “if you were filing a mission report for Deck.”

 

“So there you go.”

 

“No! Don’t lie to me, 494. I know how much you hated the Niners for what they did. Only I’m worse. I knew EXACTLY what they’d do to you because of me and I still ran to save myself.”

 

“You ran to save your baby,” Alec gently corrected her. “It’s not like you had a choice, 798.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I was pissed at you for a VERY long time. I thought you were selfish and weak… just like them. And then I got sent back to Psy Ops for another round of mental evisceration because of Ben, and by the time I got out I was convinced I was the only one I could trust. An attitude that did NOT endear me to Max any,” he added with a rueful smile.

 

Jace let out a shaky laugh.

 

His let the smile fade and turned solemn. Holding her hands, he stared into her dark eyes, shiny with unshed tears, and willed her to listen and believe. “You did what you had to do to keep your child safe. Everyone who went through the breeding program gets that. And the rest don’t matter.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Max peered through the kitchen window at the two figures on the hill.  She watched as Alec offered Jace the comfort of his arms; watched Jace laugh at something he said and wipe the tears from her eyes. Jealousy flared deep inside her, making her chest constrict painfully. Strangely, it was the obvious bond between the pair and not the hug that bothered her the most.

 

Face blank, she stepped away from the window and let the curtains drop.

 

 

~*~

 

 

As soon as she returned to the house, Jace headed straight for the kitchen and quickly became absorbed in dinner preparations. She was busy chopping vegetables for a salad, the knife a metallic blur in her deft hands, when someone slipped under her guard and snagged a carrot stick off the cutting board. Jace playfully swiped at the hand with the flat of her blade. “You’ll spoil your supper,” she scolded in her best ‘mom’ voice.

 

“I’m not sure that’s physically possible for an X5,” Max mused as she crunched loudly on the stolen carrot. Jace laughed.

 

Max hopped up on the countertop, swinging her feet as she watched Jace chop. “I saw you and Alec on the hill earlier,” she said casually. “What were you guys talking about?”

 

Jace shrugged. “We had some catching up to do. There were some… personal issues we needed to discuss; private things between him and me.”

 

“Oh.” Max turned her face away to conceal the hurt in her eyes. They’d spilled their secrets on that hilltop; secrets she wasn’t considered worthy of sharing. She’d never felt more excluded.

 

Jace glanced across at Max. The brunette had her head down and was fiddling with a loose button on her shirt. There was a hint of a pout on her full lips. Jace suppressed a smile. Her baby sister never changed; she hated being left out of the loop.

 

“It was just Manticore stuff, Max,” Jace hastened to reassure her. “You wouldn’t have been interested.”

 

‘ _Riight_ _,_ ’ Max thought bitterly. ‘ _Because why would **I**  be interested in hearing about what you and Alec were up to those 10 years I was gone? After all, I’m just a Niner. I couldn’t possibly understand what you went through._’

 

“Sure. It’s good you two are so close then.” Max smiled blandly at Jace, proud of how steady her voice sounded. She hopped off the counter. “I’m gonna go help Victor set up the table.”

 

Jace stared after Max’s retreating back, her forehead creased into a puzzled frown, then shrugged it off and turned her attention back to chopping vegetables. Max was nothing if not moody, and she had a squad of hungry X5s to feed.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The rear of the house boasted a large open-air patio. Potted trees strung with mini lights lined the perimeter, turning the patio into a fairy garden. A table large enough to accommodate them all had been set up the far end. It was currently littered with empty bowls and plates; a few crumbs all that remained of an impressive feast. Victor excused himself to go tend bar, leaving the seven transgenics to visit among themselves.

 

“So Maxie,” Jace said as she held her wine glass out for Zane to refill, “how’d you and Alec hook up?” She kept her eyes trained on Max, ignoring the dark look Alec sent her way.

 

Max grinned and laughed. “Manticore dating service,” she joked.

 

“What?!?” Jace sputtered, nearly choking on a sip of wine. Alec reached over and pounded her back with a little more force than was strictly necessary; she waved him off with a scowl. “Details!” she ordered the brunette.

 

“Zack, Syl, Krit and I launched a raid on the DNA labs. We were trying to stop Manticore from mass producing any more freaks. Stupid, I know.” Max shrugged. “Anyway, it didn’t work. I got recaptured. Renfro assigned Alec to be my breeding partner. I kicked his ass to the door.” She grinned at the memory. “After I blew the place up, he followed me home like a stray puppy.”

 

“Puppy??” Alec repeated, highly offended. “I think you’re confusing me with Josh. Gotta say, that’s a little scary.”

 

The sound system suddenly kicked to life, cutting off Max’s retort and filling the Mexican night with a pulsing, throbbing beat. Excited patrons spilled out of the bar and began to dance the salsa, turning the patio into an erotic floorshow. Alec flashed Jace an amused, knowing look.

 

“What?” Jace said innocently. “No point letting all those dance lessons go to waste.”

 

“Dance lessons?” Syl repeated, curious.

 

“Since when did Manticore endorse anything as frivolous as dancing??” Jondy demanded.

 

“It was for a surveillance mission,” Jace answered coolly, annoyed by her sister’s sceptical tone. “A former IRA gunrunner was suspected of smuggling biochemical weapons to terrorist groups in the Middle East. He ran his operation out of a very private, very exclusive resort in the Cayman Islands. The only way to get close to him was to join the staff. Alec and I were sent in as dance instructors.” Jace’s lips curved into a nostalgic smile. “It was the most fun I ever had prepping for a mission. Manticore spent three days teaching us how to dance professionally. The salsa was my favourite.”

 

“Dance lessons?” Zane groaned. “My sympathies, man.”

 

Alec shook his head. “Surprisingly, it didn’t suck. Jace was assigned the target. My job was to distract the mistress,” he leered. “She had the most gorgeous pair of… eyes.” Alec winked and raised his hands in that universal male gesture. Krit and Zane grinned and hooted appreciatively.

 

Max snorted and lightly cuffed Alec on the back of the head. “Highly disciplined super soldier, my ass. You’re just another man – nothing but a mindless, drooling, slave to your hormones.”

 

“I’ll be your slave anytime, Maxie,” Alec purred.

 

“My slave, hmm?” Max grinned wickedly. The chance to make Alec squirm was too tempting to pass up. “Well, there is one thing you could do for me,” she said thoughtfully. Alec nodded encouragement. “I have something that needs washing, something… dirty.”

 

Alec’s eyes darkened in anticipation. “Really,” he drawled. “Is it your back?”

 

“Nope.” Max shook her head, making her hair dance around her face. She bit her lower lip to keep from giggling and spoiling the game.

 

Alec dropped his eyes to the cleavage visible above the low cut V-neck of her shirt. His hungry expression sent tingles through her body. “Your front?”

 

“Nun uh.” Max leaned forward, closing the small distance still between them, and whispered breathily in his ear, “My laundry.”

 

His eyes snapped up to meet hers. The heat in those glowing emerald orbs made her blood boil. The smirk slipped unnoticed off her lips.

 

“As you wish,” Alec whispered. Taking her hand in his, he slowly raised it to his lips and pressed a kiss to the knuckles. His hot breath ghosted across her skin, making her shiver. He glanced up at her from beneath dark lashes, his head still bent over her hand. Her pulse quickened at the seductive promise in his heavy gaze, and when his tongue darted out to taste her she couldn’t hold back a small moan. Smirking, Alec released her hand and sat back in his seat.

 

‘ _Damn._ ’ Max let out a shaky breath. Snatching her wine glass, she quickly drank down half the contents.

 

Chuckling, Alec glanced across the table and found Syl staring intently at him. The blonde had her head titled to one side and a thoughtful frown on her face. “Something on your mind?” he asked.

 

“So… you and Jace pulled a lot of missions together, huh.” Alec nodded. “That must’ve sucked. Getting assigned to a new unit I mean,” she added quickly when Alec frowned. He shrugged indifferently, but Syl caught the minute tightening around his eyes because she was watching him so intently.

 

“My first squad wasn’t that close. Not like you guys,” Alec said dismissively. He stared into his drink, rolling the glass tumbler in his hand and watching the play of light on the amber liquid inside. “It would’ve happened eventually. When we hit puberty anyone earmarked for specialist training was pulled out of their unit and reassigned. I got a 3 year jump on my training, s’all.”

 

“So THAT’S why you’re so normal,” Syl nodded to herself, looking pleased.

 

Alec blinked, nonplussed. “Huh? Anyone got a map because I missed that corner.”       

 

Syl took a long sip of her wine before answering. “You don’t act like someone who spent twenty years locked up in a secure military installation. You act… human, and better than rest of them do. Better even than us at times, and we’ve been out here a hell of a lot longer than you.”

 

“You can’t get close enough to a target to kill if you don’t blend in,” Alec said blandly. “I was trained to blend. I’m very, VERY good at it.”

 

Syl eyed him over the top of her glass, the corner of her mouth turned up in a sly smile. “Then they shouldn’t have made you so sexy, because babe… you do ANY thing but disappear into a crowd.”

 

Alec smirked and raised his glass to her in a silent toast.

 

Max frowned petulantly. ‘ _What is up with my sisters flirting with him? Don’t they have boyfriends of their own to worry about?_ ’ Hiding her sour expression behind her wine glass, she locked her gaze on the wildly gyrating couples on the dance floor, although her busy mind barely registered what she was seeing.

 

Alec smiled at the engrossed look on Max’s face as she watched the dancing. He draped an arm across the back of her chair, his thumb lightly caressing her bare skin. “Dance with me, Maxie?”

 

Max tensed; caught completely off guard by Alec’s offer. “What… here? With you?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said bluntly, too embarrassed to admit that, unlike him, she’d never learned how. She had no intention of making a fool of herself. Feeling her skin turn red, she kept her face averted.

 

Alec studied her haughty profile and the flush of red that stained her cheeks. If Max felt the weight of his stare, she refused to turn her face and meet his eyes. He hesitated, stung by her rejection, and then let it slide. It was just a dance; not worth fighting over.

 

There were plenty of other pretty females who weren’t ashamed to be seen in public with him.

 

“Sure. Whatever,” he shrugged. “You’re loss.”

 

Max felt his arm drop away from her back, and shivered at the loss of his heat.

 

Turning to his right, Alec flashed Jace a winsome smile. “Hey there, pretty lady,” he drawled, “do me the honour of standing up with me?”

 

“Why, it would be mah pleasure sir,” she simpered in a fake Southern accent, one hand pressed daintily to her throat.

 

Alec stood and bowed from the waist. Jace took the hand he held out to her and let him lead her to the very centre of the dance floor. Max watched them go feeling more than a little miffed. How could he tease her like he just did and then blithely ask someone else to dance?

 

Alec launched Jace into a spin that ended with her tumbling gracefully into his arms, one leg gliding up his body to hook behind his hip. His fingers curled possessively around the back of her knee, the silky fabric of her skirt bunching under his hands as he slowly slid his hand up her leg, exposing her mocha skin inch by tantalizing inch.

 

Her slender arms wrapped around his neck; heads pressed together and eyes locked as if they were the only two in the room. They held that pose for a long beat.

 

Just as his wandering hand reached the top of her thigh, he spun her out to the end of his reach and then yanked her back to collide with his body, her back against his chest. Sliding his hands down to her waist, Alec ground their hips together, rocking their bodies in time to the sultry beat. Jace writhed against him, her raised arms weaving patterns in the air.

 

Max stared at the dancing couple in sick fascination, unable to tear her eyes from the sensual display. The two transgenics were beautiful together. Their graceful, seductive movements were more restrained than most of the couples around them because of Alec’s injury, but that just made them all the more compelling to watch. The jealous, insecure feelings she thought she’d smothered earlier flared back to life stronger than before.

 

“Wow, Jace wasn’t kidding,” Jondy murmured. “They’re really good.” Unconsciously her small pink tongue darted out to wet her lips.

 

“I guess,” Max muttered ungraciously. She shifted restlessly in her chair. The urge to leap up and forcefully remove Jace from Alec’s arms was almost overwhelming. Out of sight under the table her hands balled into tight fists.

 

‘ _How dare she touch MY mate like that?_ ’ she fumed. It was supposed to be HER in his arms. HER! Only ever her.

 

A sudden horrible thought sent ice water rushing through her veins. ALEC was the one who asked JACE to dance, not the other way around. They’d survived those long hard years at Manticore with nothing and no one but each other.

 

What exactly did the dark X5 mean to him? Had they been involved once? Did he have feelings for her?

 

Did he want her back?

 

Her stomach threatened to revolt. She bit the inside of her cheek and tasted blood.

 

Max’s low growl caught Syl’s attention. Stealing a surreptitious glance across the table, she instantly recognized her baby sister’s black expression for what it was: seething jealousy. ‘ _Crap,_ ’ she swore with a mental eye roll before turning back to the dance floor. ‘ _Just what we need._ ’

 

No one noticed Victor standing in the shadows of the doorway, a fury marring his boyish features as he watched his wife dance with another man.

 

 

~*~

 

 

The dance ended with a dip so low that Jace’s unbound hair brushed the floor. She flung her arms out and back, trusting Alec to support her weight. Alec skimmed his free hand down her torso between her breasts from her collarbone to her waist before pulling her upright and setting her gently back on her feet. They returned to the table, faces flushed and glowing from the exercise.

 

“Thanks,” Jace said with a smile, “I forgot how much fun that was.” She kissed Alec on the cheek before taking her seat.

 

Max’s anger flared up another notch. Her fists were so tightly clenched, her fingernails dug painfully into her palms. She glared daggers at her rival.

 

“What, Victor doesn’t do it for you?” Alec snarked as he dropped into the chair next to Max.

 

Jace silenced him with a look. “Most nights we’re both working. This place won’t run itself y’know.”

 

“Alec, what the hell were you thinking??” Max demanded shrilly. “Were you even thinking?? Because doing a bump-n-grind less than a week post-op was not the brightest idea you’ve ever had. Or did you just forget that that nearly FATAL stab wound isn’t fully healed yet!” Jealousy, anger, envy and concern churned in Max’s stomach, making her words sharp.

 

Alec flinched; blind-sided by the fury visible in Max’s eyes. ‘ _What the hell did I do wrong now?_ ’ He shook his head; some days he just couldn’t win with her.

 

“It was just a dance,” he growled. “What’s your problem?” Snatching his scotch off the table, he drained it in one long swallow, his eyes daring her to press the issue.

 

“What’s my problem??” she repeated. She glared at him through slitted eyes, her mouth set in a thin hard line. If he wanted a fight, she’d give him one. “My ‘problem’ is that you probably pulled your stitches with that little stunt.”

 

“So?” Alec asked arrogantly.

 

“So I’m tired of sleeping on bloody sheets.”

 

Alec’s jaw locked at her cutting tone. His expression turned glacial. He opened his mouth to hurl a scathing response but Syl beat him to it.

 

“Retract the claws Maxie, before you draw blood,” Syl snapped. Max whipped her head around to glare in outrage at her sister. Syl met her angry gaze steadily. “Or here’s an idea… if you’re so worried about it, next time dance with him yourself.” Her expression told Max clearly that not only was she behaving badly, but Syl for one wasn’t fooled about the real reason behind Max’s outburst.

 

Alec stared at Syl, not sure whether to thank her for running interference or take umbrage that she thought he needed a defender.

 

“Well excuse me for being concerned,” Max retorted sullenly.

 

Syl snorted in disgust. “If that’s you being ‘concerned’ I’d hate to see you with your enemies. There’s a little thing called tact, Max. Look it up. Use it. Embrace it. God knows you need it,” she added under her breath. Max at least had the grace to blush at the criticism.

 

“Now who needs to retract the claws?” Alec asked rhetorically. He stood and pulled his shirt out of his jeans, exposing his wounded side. He was healing nicely. Only a thin red scar and a line of black stitches remained to mar his golden skin. “See? I’m fine. The stitches are fine. No harm, no foul.”

 

Alec loomed over Max, his eyes boring down into hers. Max squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. Hurt and confusion were visible in those hazel orbs before he carefully blanked his expression. He was withdrawing into himself, shielding himself from her, she realized, and it shamed her. She was such a fool.

 

“Okay, okay. You made your point. I over-reacted. Now sit down and stop being such a drama queen.” She tugged gently on his sleeve.

 

Alec blew out a deep breath but resumed his seat. The honest regret in Max’s dark eyes appeased his hurt feelings. Mostly.

 

“Sorry. My bad,” Max apologized in a low voice. “I was worried you’d hurt yourself again. I don’t like to see you bleed.” It was the truth, as far as it went. She just refused to admit to the jealousy behind the anger. Reaching out to him, she laid a tentative hand on his thigh and was relieved when he didn’t brush it off.

 

“I’m not a child, Max. I know my own limits. I can take care of myself. You have got to learn to trust me.”

 

“I do,” she protested feebly.

 

“Then stop treating me like you don’t.”

 

Her hand dropped limply back into her lap. She bowed her head. What could she say to that? She fervently wished she’d just danced with him when he asked her to, even if she looked like a fool doing it.

 

“So who wants desert?” Jace asked brightly into the silence.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Desert was fresh homemade pie topped with ice cream. Victor – who was quite the capable chef – had baked the pies himself that morning. He joined them at the table, inordinately pleased by how quickly desert vanished from the table. The transgenics devoured the sweet pastry like a pack of starving wolves.

 

“Oh man that’s good,” Zane moaned, licking his lips appreciatively. Krit nodded in agreement and grunted something rendered unintelligible by the amount of pie crammed into his mouth.

 

“I’d make this for dinner every single night,” Alec sighed happily, “only I spent too much time learning how to kill someone with everyday kitchen utensils and not enough time becoming domesticated.”

 

Alec’s words were intended to mock himself, but in his jealousy Victor interpreted the comment as a slam to his manhood. He scowled at Alec. To add insult to injury, the X5 didn’t even seem to notice, he was too busy scraping his plate clean.

 

Pouting at his now empty plate, Alec glanced longingly at the half piece Jace still had left. Inching his chair closer to hers he said in a sing-song voice, “Jaaace, why don’cha let me finish that for ya?”

 

Jace looked from Alec to her plate and back again. Alec gave her his best puppy dog eyes, wheedling her the same way he used to do back at Manticore. “Here. Have at it,” she sighed and handed over her plate.

 

Alec grinned and attacked her pie with gusto. “Thanks,” he mumbled around a mouthful. “You’re a sweetheart.”

 

“Oh sure,” Victor snarled and angrily tossed his fork on the table, “give in to him. Give him whatever he wants, just like you always do. Hell, why don’t you just him the whole goddamned pie!!”

 

Jace blinked at him in confusion. “Victor…??”

 

“Forget it.” He jumped to his feet, the chair scraping loudly on the wooden deck. “Do whatever you want. I’m going to go check on out son. You do remember we have a son, right?”

 

“What’s gotten into you?” Jace hissed, embarrassed and confused by his sudden outburst.

 

Victor threw aside all sense of restraint and decorum. This jealousy had burned inside him for too many years to ignore it now. “I’m sick and tired of watching you drape yourself all over 494. I saw you two earlier. Dancing.” He spat the word out like it was poison.

 

“You’re freaking out over a dance?!?” Jace asked, incredulous. “It’s the SALSA! It doesn’t mean anything! Besides, you’ve seen us dance like that before.”

 

“That was back at Manticore,” he retorted.

 

“So? What’s the difference?”

 

“There aren’t any guards here to keep you two apart. You’re free to be with him.” He went white around the mouth; as if he feared it would come true just because he said the words aloud.

 

Jace’s mouth dropped open. She was genuinely aghast. “You think that 494 and I… that we…” Words failed her. The idea was so absurd she might have laughed if it weren’t for the hurt clearly visible in her husband’s eyes.

 

Max snuck a glance at Alec and was relieved to see that he looked equally disturbed at the idea.

 

“Why not? It’s not like he’s not your brother,” Victor challenged.

 

“No, but… he’s Alec,” she stammered, as if that explained everything. “Victor, I have NEVER done ANYTHING to give you cause to doubt me,” she said heatedly. She was hurt and angry that he could think her capable such a thing. “Especially not with Alec. Besides, he’s dating Max!”

 

“Like that would stop him,” Victor muttered under his breath.

 

“Be VERY careful what you say to me,” Alec growled. “You don’t know me. You never have.” X5-494 stared out from behind Alec’s icy eyes. Victor gulped and turned away, unable to meet that intimidating gaze.

 

“So you guys were never… like that,” Max asked softly. She’d schooled her face to blankness, but secretly she was elated at Victor’s accusation; it saved her from having to voice her own fears and insecurities.

 

Alec whipped his head around to stare at Max. “Not you too!” he protested.

 

“NO!” she exclaimed, a little too vehemently to be entirely believable. “I’m just trying to help clarify things.”

 

“Jace and I weren’t, aren’t, and won’t ever be involved,” Alec said emphatically, enunciating each word slowly and clearly so there could be no more misunderstandings. “Yeah, we’re close. I refuse to apologize for that. We saw each other through some really shitty times. But we’re NOT lovers. We’re squad mates. Family. That’s it.” Beside him, Jace nodded in agreement.

 

Max bowed her head as first relief and then shame flooded through her. When he put it that way, her jealous fears seemed… silly.

 

Alec pinned Victor with a look and said in a voice that brooked no argument, “You owe Jace an apology.”

 

Victor bowed his head and breathed deeply several times to collect himself. After a long moment he raised his head and said earnestly, “Forgive me, baby. I’m sorry. Sometimes I just can’t believe that someone like you would want to be with someone like me. I’m an idiot. I know it.”

 

Jace left him hanging for an eternity, but eventually she softened. “Yeah, but you’re my idiot,” she said fondly. “Alec chose Max. I chose you. I love you. Don’t ever doubt that.” held her hand out. Victor swiftly closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms for a deep kiss.

 

Max glanced sidelong at Alec and found him looking back at her. She hated the distance in his eyes; hated even more that she was the one that put it there. She shyly tucked her hand under and over his arm, resting her hand on the back of his wrist. Pleased when he didn’t shake her off, she laid her head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her hair and nuzzled the top of her head, making her sigh contentedly and melt into him.

 

“Were you jealous over me, Maxie?” Alec said teasingly, fully expecting her to deny it. To his surprise, Max blushed and hid her face in the soft cotton of his shirt. “You were!” he said in some surprise.

 

The genuine pleasure in his voice demanded honesty from her. “Maybe just a little,” she mumbled in a low voice. Alec, being transgenic, heard her anyway.

 

“Good,” he said smugly.

 

“Good??” she repeated, blankly. Tilting her head back, she peered up at him. “Did you miss the jealous fight that happened right in front of us not 2 minutes ago? A fight YOU started, by the way.”

 

Alec smirked, unrepentant. “It’s nice to know you want me that much.”

 

Max sighed. “Will your ego get impossibly big if I tell you I always want you?”

 

“No, but something else might,” he leered.

 

Max laughed huskily and tipped her face up for a kiss. Alec leaned in close; so close his hazel eyes completely filled her vision. “Do I still hafta do your laundry?” he asked, his mouth a hair’s breath from hers.

 

“Nah,” she whispered breathily, aching for his kiss, “we’ll get Mole to do it.”

 

“I wanna see his face when you tell him that,” he chuckled before claiming her mouth.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Early the next morning, Jace led Max up the path to the top of the bluff and listened dutifully while her baby sister extolled the benefits of life at Freak Nation. “It sounds great, Maxie,” she said with an indulgent smile.

 

“It sounds like one of Ben’s fairytales,” Max snorted dismissively, “or possibly ‘Lord of the Flies’.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You’re not coming with us, are you?” Max said sadly.

 

Jace shook her head. “I can’t. Max got his looks from me but otherwise he’s his father’s son. He hasn’t shown any transgenic abilities at all. I think maybe our X5 traits only breed true with our own kind.”

 

“Case didn’t show any signs either until he was 6,” Max argued. “Maybe it just takes a few years for our genes to manifest.”

 

“Or maybe Case is unique and Max is 100% human, like his dad,” Jace countered. “No,” she shook her head, “I can’t ask them to live like us. Max isn’t one of us. I don’t want him growing up thinking he’s somehow less just because he’s different from everybody else. He doesn’t belong there.” She shrugged elegantly. “So I don’t either.”

 

Max stared out at the horizon, her expression veiled. Jace’s words resonated with her, touching the little girl deep inside her who just wanted to belong. The realization she’d been trying so hard to ignore now seemed unavoidable.

 

Jace reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Max’s ear. “Talk to me, baby sis.”

 

“I envy you,” Max said softly. “You’ve got the normal life I always wanted. I had it once, for a little while -– a crap job, a crap apartment I had to bribe the cops for, friends, homies… and a boyfriend I could trust with the big scary truth. Someone who didn’t care that I was a freak. Someone I could trust not to turn me in to make a quick buck, or sleep with me just so he could say he got his kink on with supergirl.” She smiled, a bitter twist of her lips. “And then I burnt down the circus and let all the freaks out into the world and suddenly, just like that, it’s all on me. I had to give it all up for them, to keep them safe.”

 

“But…” Jace prompted softly. 

 

“But…” Max sighed, “giving it up didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.” She laughed to herself, a soft sound of incredulity and disbelief. “It was just a dream. Just a stupid, childish dream. This isn’t my world. I don’t belong out here. And I guess I never did.”

 

“No. You belong at Freak Nation. With Alec,” Jace said with quiet conviction. “I know you; I know what you’re both capable of. I’ve seen you in action. Trust me, together you’ll do the impossible. You’ll find a way to keep us all safe. Even the hold outs like me,” she grinned.

 

“Yeah,” Max said quietly. She stared out into the distance through eyes that were free of shadows. Focused. She’d finally embraced the destiny she’d been running from all these years, and found to her surprise that it didn’t chafe. For the first time ever, her future was as limitless as that endless horizon.

 

“Yeah. We will.”

 

 


	23. Chapter 23

Max crouched at the edge of the pool and dipped one slim hand into the water, testing the temperature. The heat of it brought a smile to her face. It was perfect. Quickly she stripped down and eased into the water.

 

The natural hot spring was located in an underground cavern. The pool was roughly egg-like in shape, 15 feet in diameter at its widest point, and shallow enough that Max could stand with her head above water. The well at the bottom constantly circulated the water, bringing fresh water bubbling up to the surface. Shelves jutted out from the rock walls, forming natural benches around the perimeter of the pool. Flute holes in the ceiling high above her head let sunlight filter dimly into the cave. The heavy smell of sulphur rode the air, making her nose crinkle.

 

Tipping her head back to wet her hair, she closed her eyes and let herself float, humming softly under her breath. Her arms moved lazily back and forth at her sides, making the water swish around her body.

 

A thick blanket hung over the entrance as a makeshift door. Max had pulled it shut for privacy. Alec carefully lifted one side and peered through the gap. He watched Max for several minutes, a lascivious smile playing on his lips. Max was floating on her back with her head resting on the rim of the pool. His eyes swept hungrily over her body, from the tranquil expression on her face down to her dainty toes painted a brilliant cherry red. Her long hair floated on the surface of the water like ribbons. Light brown curls broke the surface as her torso rose and fell with her breathing. She looked like a sleeping mermaid.

 

Alec was unable to resist the urge to join her. He flicked the blanket aside and strode confidently into the room. Max jumped, startled by the unexpected scrape of boots on the stone floor. She reflexively curled into a ball, legs tucked protectively against her bare chest, and sank under the water up to her chin before she’d even registered who was there.

 

“Hey Maxie.”

 

“Hey.” Her welcoming smile was a touch self-conscious. She uncurled from her tight ball but kept her body demurely out of sight under the surface of the water. Alec suppressed a grin.

 

“What’s up?” Max asked as she smoothed her wet hair back from her face.

 

“Dix finally got the Intel for the MacNair job. It’s scheduled for tonight.”

 

Ewan MacNair was a master thief turned legitimate entrepreneur who now designed unbreakable security systems to safeguard the rich and paranoid. His clients were reputed to include various heads of states, European royals, Russian oil barons, even Bill Gates. His services didn’t come cheaply. He’d amassed a small fortune which he spent indulging his taste for expensive art. His collection was legendary; so too was his security system. No one had ever successfully beaten it. Well beaten it and lived to profit from the experience, that is. Naturally Alec was confident he could crack it wide open. He already had several buyers lined up.

 

Max frowned. Sometimes confident was just another word for cocky.

 

She let out a deep sigh. She’d vowed after the last time not to bitch anymore about Alec going out on missions without her. Didn’t mean she had to like it. A small, “oh,” was all she said.

 

Alec hid a smile. Shrugging out of his leather jacket, he draped it over a convenient rock and toed off his shoes. Max watched him curiously but stayed silent. When his hands dropped to his belt, her eyes went wide.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

 

“Joining you,” Alec purred. He popped the button of his jeans and slowly pulled down the zipper. The rasp of the metal teeth sounded unnaturally loud in the hollow cavern. “I thought we could scrub each other’s backs.” His eyes traced the swell of her breasts just barely visible above the line of the water. “And fronts,” he added with a leer.

 

“Alec, you can’t come in here!” Max protested. Nervous eyes flicked between him and the cave entrance. Anyone could just wander in. The fear of someone catching them in a compromising position made her breathing speed up.

 

“Yes. I can.”

 

Alec quickly stripped off the rest of his clothes. He stared down at her, totally at ease with his nudity. Max could only wish she was half as comfortable in her own skin. He stretched his arms to the ceiling, rising up on tiptoes and arching his back like a cat, every delectable inch of his body on display. Max felt her heartbeat trip fast and faster.

 

He padded to the edge of the pool and slipped into the water soundlessly. Muscles rippled beneath silken skin as he prowled towards her. Max was frozen, pinned in place by the gleam in his eyes. He was a predator on the hunt and she his chosen prey.

 

Max raised her hands in front of her to hold him off. Alec ignored her unspoken plea and closed the distance between them. His body was so close the soft hair on his legs brushed her skin. Her hands ended up trapped against his bare chest. She could his heartbeat beneath her palm.

 

“Alec…” she said warily, “what are you doing?”

 

He gave her a look that made things down low in her body tighten and clench.

 

Max shook her head. “Someone might see us!” Even to her ears, her protest sounded weak.

 

“The risk makes the pleasure even sweeter.” Lust turned his eyes a brilliant emerald. His voice slid down her spine like the brush of fur over bare skin. She licked her lips nervously.

 

Alec leaned forward, his mouth hovering just above her hairline. “Your heart is pounding, Max. I can hear it. All that blood pumping frantically through your veins.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. It was rich with arousal and a hint of fear. “And I can smell it. The adrenaline. Danger is such a rush to us. We get off on it, Max. You know that. You feel it every time we go out on a mission.”

 

He smiled, seductive and dangerous. The kind of smile that spoke of wicked things done in the dark. “I can make you feel like that, here, now.” He stood over her, staring down at her from an inch away, a dark promise in his eyes.

 

Her heart was pounding so hard she could taste her pulse in the back of her throat. She could feel him along the length of her body, a line of warmth and power and primal need. She wanted to sink into his heat, wrap his body around her like a blanket. Slowly she tilted her head back, offering him her lips.

 

He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, her eyes, the tip of her nose, the corner of her mouth. “Max,” he breathed.

 

“Yessss,” she hissed.

 

His mouth sealed over hers, stealing her breath with a kiss.

 

Max locked her arms behind his neck and arched her body into his, pulling him as close to her as possible.

 

Alec growled and deepened the kiss, eating at her mouth as if he could climb inside her skin through his kiss. He flicked his tongue along her lips, begging for entrance. Max opened under him and the pressure of his lips, his tongue, his teeth, brought a low moan from the back of her throat. He explored her mouth thoroughly, tasting her, drinking her in. His strong arms tightened around her, crushing her to his body. She could feel him against her lower abdomen, swollen and ready.

 

Max curled her lips in a smug smile. He was always ready for her.

 

“I’m always ready for you, Max,” Alec purred.

 

Max’s eyes went wide in surprise at how closely his words echoed her thoughts. How did he know what she was just thinking? He’d never shown any psych abilities before.

 

“No psy ops,” he chuckled, displaying that uncanny ability to guess her thoughts again, “I just know you that well, babe.”

 

Max shivered, not entirely comfortable with the thought of anyone being that perceptive when it came to her. Alec swooped in to claim a kiss and the feel of him sucking and nipping gently at her lower lip distracted her from her thoughts. Soon her world narrowed to his lips on hers, their naked skin, and a need so large it was almost overwhelming.

 

She gave into temptation, forgetting all about their precarious position and the potential for discovery. Reaching down, she wrapped her fingers around his cock and squeezed softly. She loved the feel of him, that velvet softness over steel. It was gratifying to be able to touch him like that, to feel the depth of his desire for her. He wanted her with a desperate urgency. The proof of it was in her hands.

 

Alec growled and seized her roughly by the hips, hard enough to leave finger-shaped bruises in the morning, and lifted her off her feet. One knee slid between her legs, nudging hers apart. With a quick twist of his body Alec was settled in the cradle of her hips, his weight pinning her to the wall of the pool. She could feel his cock trapped between them, hard and firm and slick with his own pre-cum. Max moaned softly but let him manhandle her into position. Secretly she revelled in his little display of dominance. Only with him would she allow herself this surrender.

 

Not that she was submissive to him, by any stretch. With a wanton smile, Max wrapped her legs around his waist, ankles locked possessively behind his back, pinning him to her body as surely as she was pinned to the wall. Her tight nipples brushed his chest as she breathed, making shivers race through them both at the contact.

 

Max rolled her hips experimentally. Alec groaned at the delicious friction against his sensitive head. Pleased by his reaction, Max repeated the move, pulling another groan from his throat. Alec retaliated, his fingers sliding between their bodies to play with the curls at the apex of her thighs. He tugged the hair lightly, winding the curls around his fingertips, and then delved lower. Max mewled helplessly as those deft pianist’s fingers dipped between her folds. His touch was light and teasing. He played her like a fine instrument, bringing her to the brink of release and holding it just beyond her reach. She writhed against him, seeking more friction, more depth; just more.

 

“Alec,” she whined, her breathing coming in harsh pants. “Don’t tease.”

 

“Yes ma’am,” he chuckled.

 

His fingers vanished. Max moaned a protest that turned into a happy sigh as his thick shaft carefully eased into her. He stared into her eyes once he was fully sheathed inside her, his expression a mix of triumph and wonder, tenderness and raw aching need, and something else. Something precious. Max shuddered. His eyes rolled back as her internal muscles spasmedand tightened around him, and then he began to move.

 

He rocked their bodies, his pace maddeningly slow, pulling almost completely out only to push back in so very, very slowly. Max didn’t want slow; not here, not today. She arched and rolled her hips, silently urging him to go faster, harder, deeper. He sped up the rhythm until he was pistoning into her, hard and fast, as if he could crawl inside her and merge them into one being. Her hands roamed over his body. She could feel the play of muscles in his arms and back, rippling and straining as he held her up and plunged into her. The water sloshed and spilled around them, caressing their writhing bodies like a lover’s touch.

 

Alec threw back his head, his eyes screwed shut and his neck corded with the strain of holding off orgasm. He angled his hips as he thrust into her, searching for that elusive spot deep inside her body that would make her fly. Max cried out when he found it, shuddering against him. Her fingers dug into his back, scrabbling for purchase on his slick skin. Alec pounded into her, over and over, working that spot hard with every punishing stroke. She caught the rhythm and moved with him, against him, her inner muscles gripping his shaft tightly as if unwilling to relinquish him. He began to shake uncontrollably.

 

The rough rock wall abraded her back with every powerful thrust. Max didn’t care. She was flying, soaring, falling, tumbling into blackness. Alec filled her, completed her, reached a place deep inside her no one else ever had. She keened as her orgasm crashed over her in a skin-tingling rush. Her nails scored his flesh, and the pain mixed with the blinding pleasure to push him over the edge too. Alec tripped after her into oblivion, howling his release.

 

 

~*~

 

 

Alec raised one hand out of the water and frowned at it. “Look at me, I’m all pruny,” he complained. He reached out to Max, a look of mock horror on his face, and wailed in a high-pitched screechy voice, “Arghh, I’m melting, I’m meellltiiing!”

 

Max rolled her eyes and splashed him in the face. “That’s the Wicked Witch of the West, moron.” She titled her head to one side and regarded him thoughtfully. “Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”

 

Alec stuck his tongue out at her. Laying his hands on the rock ledge, he hoisted himself out of the water in one lithe movement and reached for a towel. Water sheeted down his body, from broad shoulders to lean waist, over the curve of taut buttocks and down strongly muscled legs to pool at his feet. Max licked her lips unconsciously, watching the water trail down the line of his body. She wanted to run her hands over him, trace that path with her tongue. She shook her head to clear it.

 

‘ _Stop acting like such a slut!_ ’ she scolded herself. ‘ _Sex in public places is bad. Very, very bad._ ’

 

The voice in the back of her head just laughed smugly. Max told it to shut up.

 

“We’d better get moving,” Alec said, his voice slightly muffled by the towel as he briskly rubbed his hair dry. “The boys are waiting on us at Command HQ.”

 

“Mmmm,” Max said noncommittally. She settled against the rock wall of the pool, squirming a little until she found a comfortable spot to lay her head. The warm water soothed her sore muscles. She ached all over, but in a good way.

 

“You’re not coming with me?” Alec paused and turned to look at her, the towel dangling forgotten in one hand.

 

“Nuh uh.” Max shook her head. “You’re not leaving for at least an hour yet, and I’m comfy.”

 

“But Maxie,” Alec whined, “what am I s’posed to do by myself for a whole hour? I’ll get bored and then I’ll get in trouble.” He pouted, looking up at her from beneath thick golden lashes. That little boy charm, combined with that perfect nude body, made her insides melt. He looked adorable, edible.

 

She almost caved. The need to be close to him was like a constant physical ache. She hated the thought that she needed him so badly. It frightened her to need anyone that much. Their lives were so fragile, so dangerous right now.

 

Max closed her eyes so she couldn’t see him anymore and forced a laugh. “I’m not giving up the best hot bath I’ve had in weeks just to keep you from getting bored.” She shook her head. “Go. I’ll catch up with you later.”

 

 

~*~

 

 

Max navigated the winding passageways that led deeper into the cliffs. Her stride was sure and steady despite the slickness of the damp flowstone beneath her feet. The central tunnel was high enough for Joshua to pass without stooping but Max knew there were other, narrower crawl ways where he’d be hard pressed to fit. Passages branched to the left and right like arteries. Everywhere she looked were the spectacular stalagmites, stalactites and columns that this particular cave complex was famous for.

 

The Lewis and Clark Caverns had been a tourist attraction back in the day. Thousands of people toured the caves every year. The Pulse changed all that. Tourism was a dead industry when no one had enough money to eat. The government closed the site to the public, sealed all the entrances, and left it to the ghosts.

 

Now it was haunted by a different type of scourge.

 

The caverns were located in the white limestone cliffs above the Jefferson River 15 miles southwest of Three Forks, Montana, in what was once a state-owned park. The transgenics bought the land surrounding the caverns -– all 3000 acres of it -– using a dummy corporation and set up shop under cover as a wilderness retreat for the children of the wealthy and the privileged. It let the human-looking X series wander topside without garnering suspicion.

 

The caverns were perfect for their needs. It was extensive enough to house them all below ground in a crisis plus it could be easily converted into comfortable, long-term living quarters using the blasting equipment they’d stolen from the demolition company in Seattle. The caverns were already wired with electrical lighting, and safety railings and concrete walkways had been installed over the more treacherous sections.

 

The land around the caves was heavily wooded. The thick leafy canopy provided cover against aerial surveillance. As an added precaution anything remotely military was hidden away inside the caves, including the sparring ground, the firing range, and the armoury. The thick limestone protected their secrets from satellite invasion. The entrance was high enough up the cliff that no one could approach undetected. And, if they ever were discovered and forced to make a break for freedom, the Canadian border was close enough to make it on foot in a single night.

 

The transhumans were tucked away underground, safely out of sight of prying eyes. The X6s and X8s were housed in the dormitory-style cabins that were part of the park campground. The cabins were ideal housing for the younger series since most still clung to the comfortable familiarity of the barracks. In contrast, the older X5s were largely paired off and preferred their privacy. For now they were roughing it, either outside under the trees or underground with the transhumans. Good thing Manticore was big on wilderness survival skills.

 

Max knew they needed to build permanent housing, and soon. That, or excavate private living quarters for everyone below ground. First priority though was to dig half a dozen supply tunnels and backdoor escape routes; then they could worry about amenities. Fortunately no one complained about the spartan living conditions or the lack of privacy. Their quarters back at Manticore hadn’t been much better. A year on the outside hadn’t softened them that much.

 

They would endure a great deal worse for the chance to stay free.

 

A pair of twin rock columns guarded the entrance to Command HQ. A short passageway opened up into a roughly circular chamber. A bank of monitors for the CCTV system sat against the wall nearest the entrance. Next to it was the communications equipment. The entire electrical system ran off solar power. The black panels were cleverly hidden in the treetops to maximize sun exposure. Excess power was drawn off and stored in battery cells, giving them a power reserve in case of inclement weather. They had also laid in a set of back-up generators for emergencies.

 

A large conference table filled the centre of the room. Desks and filing cabinets lined two walls. There was a comfy, oversized couch at the back. Mole sat at the table, one eye on the monitors and the other on the cocked double-barrel shotgun in his lap. Alec was sprawled the length of the couch, his head hanging off the end of the armrest so that he was looking at Mole upside down. It made Max dizzy just looking at him.

 

“So you admit you’re not up to my standards,” Alec taunted Mole.

 

“Whatever, pretty boy,” Mole grunted.

 

“That wasn’t a denial, Lizzie,” Alec said cheekily.

 

Max sighed and slumped against the wall. “Do I even wanna know what they’re bitching about this time?” she asked Dix in a tired voice.

 

The pale nomalie grinned and shook his head. “Probably not.”

 

“That’s what I thought,” she muttered. Crossing her arms she stared down the length of the table at the squabbling duo. “Play nice boys or I’ll lock you both in a closet,” she said sweetly. “Together.”

 

“Hey!” Alec protested, craning his neck to peer up at her. “I’ll have you know I’m the victim here.” He’d adopted one of his perfectly blank, innocent expressions. Max shook her head, not fooled in the least.

 

“You? Victim?” Mole snorted eloquently. “And as for you,” he slammed the breech of the shotgun home and swung it around to face Max, “I’d pay to see you try.”

 

Max grinned evilly. “Every girl needs a hobby.”

 

“But Maxie, I thought  **I**  was your hobby,” Alec smiled coyly and batted his eyelashes.

 

Max rolled her eyes. “To quote a wiser man than you, ‘Whatever, pretty boy’.”

 

Mole chortled. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

 

“What’s it take to get a little respect around here?” Alec sulked, crossing his arms and sinking back into the couch cushions.

 

Max ignored his pouting and took a seat at the table. “So what’s the what?”

 

Dix handed her a sheaf of papers. “We’re all set. The mission is a go for tonight.”

 

“I dunno, Alec. Security on this place is tight,” Max said almost to herself as she flipped rapidly through the security schematics. “This job is pretty high risk.”

 

“Those are always the best kind,” Mole said with a grin.

 

“Maxie,” Alec tsked, “didn’t we just have a conversation about the benefits of high risk situations?” He tossed her a wink.

 

Max felt her cheeks flush red and changed the subject. “Who are you taking along for backup?”

 

Alec grinned. “I dunno… I thought mebbe you’d like to stretch your legs.”

 

Max matched his smile with one of her own. All her objections to the mission vanished just like that. “Hell yeah,” she said.

 

Alec rose smoothly to his feet. “C’mon,” he said, jerking his head in the direction of the exit, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

 

“What is it?” Max asked suspiciously.

 

“Oh ye of little faith. C’mon.”

 

Max sighed but followed him out the door and down the long curving passageway to the cave entrance.

 

The air outside was cool and moist, lush with the scent of green growing things and running water. The sun had dipped below the horizon, turning the distant hills into a line of hunch-backed giants.

 

Alec casually tossed something shiny and silver in her direction. Max snatched it out of the air without thinking. She blinked in confusion at the keychain in her hand and then raised her puzzled face to Alec. He shrugged.

 

“You said I owed you a new bike since I made you leave your old one behind when we fled Seattle.”

 

“So you bought me a new one?” Max frowned, unsure of how to react to such a gift.

 

“You made me promise I would, remember?”

 

“Yeah, but…” Max trailed off.

 

“I always keep my promises, Max.” The look on his face was too intense, too intimate. Max dropped her eyes, unable to meet that burning stare. Alec grinned suddenly and it softened his entire expression.

 

“It’s the newest model. Better than your old one. Better than Jondy’s even,” he added with a sly wink.

 

Max just stared at him blankly. She knew without being told that Alec hadn’t bought her a Ninja because she’d whined and complained. He wasn’t playing an angle, and he didn’t do it because there was something in it for him. He’d bought it for her for no other reason than because it would make her happy.

 

Had she ever done the same for him?

 

She didn’t deserve him.

 

The words were out before she could stop herself. “I love you.”

 

“Why?” Alec chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. “Because I bought you a bike?”

 

“Yes. No! I don’t know.” Max shook her head in confusion. She hadn’t meant to say it, not then, not like that, but the fact that he didn’t believe her pissed her off. She grabbed him, clutching his hands with the desperation of a drowning victim. Her eyes bored into his, willing him to see the truth. “I love you.”

 

Alec froze. He went so perfectly still she wasn’t sure he was even breathing. A fine trembling started in his arms and hands.

 

“You’re hands are shaking,” Max said softly.

 

Alec visibly flinched, remembering a time when another brunette said those very same words to him. He yanked his hands free and took an involuntary step back, his eyes shut against the barrage of painful images assaulting him.

 

Max saw his pain and fear, the look of regret and uncertainty, and felt her heart crack in two. Her throat tightened painfully and her eyes burned with unshed tears.

 

“Never mind,” she said quickly, waving her hand like she could erase the words from the air, her eyes held wide to keep the tears from spilling over. “Just forget I said anything. I shouldn’t have. Really. It’s okay. You don’t have to say it back. And I don’t expect anything from you…”

 

Alec’s kiss cut her off. “I love you too, Max,” he whispered raggedly against her lips. “I love you too.”

 

“You… love me?” she repeated dazedly. She peered blindly up at him, but his face was too close to hers to read his expression.

 

Alec laughed softly, but it was sad; sad and resigned. He pressed his cheek to hers. “Is that so hard to believe?”

 

“But… you love Rachel.” As soon as the words were out she wanted to kick herself. Cursing herself for a fool, she opened her mouth to take it back and then snapped it shut and let the question stand. She had to know.

 

Guilt stabbed through him like a dull knife. “Rachel,” he exhaled her name on a sigh. His arms fell limply to his sides. He shrugged helplessly. “I love Rachel. I think I always will.”

 

Max felt her heart clench painfully in response. She nodded sadly. Turning away to hide her face, she willed herself not to cry. “I understand,” she choked out past the sudden lump in her throat.

 

And she did. She knew Alec loved Rachel. She’d known that going in to this relationship. Had made her peace with it, or thought she had.

 

Rachel was beautiful and pure and sweet; everything Max wasn’t. She’d tamed the soldier and made him a good man. Her love had made him who he was. How could Max hope to compete with that?

 

Thick silence fell between them. Max studied the tips of her boots as if there was something fascinating about them. Alec stared unseeing into the night, torn between the past and the future.

 

He still mourned Rachel’s loss. How could he not? She was the first girl -– the first person -– he had ever loved. He would forever regret losing her. Failing her. She slept in the cold hard ground because of him. Because he’d betrayed her to Manticore.

 

Was he betraying her a second time by loving Max?

 

That thought haunted him; made his heart twist painfully in his chest. He would never forgive himself if it were true.

 

But he knew instinctively, somewhere inside his shrivelled killer’s soul, that that wasn’t what she would want for him, from him. Not his Rachel. She would want him to live again, really live, and be happy. Not to waste his life on useless tears and regrets.

 

He touched his hand to his heart, a sad smile playing on his lips. Rachel owned a piece of it; she always would. But so did the brunette in front of him. And she needed to know that.

 

“Max… Max look at me.” Alec gently grasped Max by the chin and forced her to look at him. He brushed his knuckles across her cheek and tenderly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s possible to love more than one person you know. Just because I love Rachel doesn’t mean I can’t love you too.”

 

Max blinked. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. It took her twice to find her voice and when she did, she didn’t know what to say. “Alec…”

 

“I love you, Max. I love you.”

 

The sincerity, and the love, shining in his eyes chased the dark shadows from her heart. Max bestowed upon him a radiant though watery smile and flung herself into his arms with enough force to rock him back on his heels.

 

“Oh god Alec, I love you too,” she mumbled into his chest.

 

Alec tipped his head back and laughed. There was a joyousness, a lightness to it like nothing she’d ever heard from him. It brought tears to her eyes. Lifting her off her feet he swung her in a circle, dancing her across the cliff top. Max squealed and clung to him like a monkey. She buried her face in the curve of his neck, her nose bumping the hollow behind his ear. Breathing in the warm familiar scent of his skin, something deep inside her clicked into place.

 

“Ohhh, dizzy,” she giggled.

 

Alec slowed their madcap whirling and set her gently on her feet, sliding her slowly down the front of his body. Her knees felt weak and shaky when she touched the ground and she leaned into him. His arm curled possessively around her waist, supporting her weight. The shape of their bodies fit perfectly together.

 

Max laid her hand on his chest above his heart. His hand came up to cover hers. She could feel the smaller pulse in his wrist fluttering against her skin, and the heavier throb and beat of his heart beneath her cupped palm. A flood of emotions washed over them as they stood in silence beneath a twilight sky. Lost in each other’s eyes, the world fell away into nothing.

 

“Alec,” Max whispered, and licked her lips.

 

Slowly Alec lowered his head. Max sighed and pressed into him, so close that not even the wind could slip between their bodies. Their mouths met in the sweetest of kisses, an almost chaste press of lips to lips. This was their beginning; their first kiss, not as lovers, but as beloveds.

 

In that moment Max she knew she owned Alec, just as he owned her. And nothing would come between them again.

 

Nothing.

 

 

~*~

 

 

A sudden cool wind blew out of the west. The sky over their heads turned black as thick clouds rolled in. Thunder echoed across the hills in a slow ominous rumble.

 

A storm was brewing.

 

 

 

**Fin**

 

 

 


End file.
